MITI ready to present factory bus operators’ diesel subsidy complaints to cabinet

KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) is prepared to listen to and present the complaints of factory bus operators who have not received diesel subsidies recently to the Cabinet.

According to Bernama, the Minister, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, stated that he believes the issue has been raised and that related ministries, including the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Economy, and Ministry of Finance, will address the matter.

“We, as the government, listen even though MITI is actually a ministry focused on the manufacturing sector. Nevertheless, we will listen and bring their concerns to the Cabinet,” he told reporters after officiating the groundbreaking ceremony for Plexus’s sixth factory in Bandar Cassia today.

He made this statement in response to requests from factory bus operators for MITI’s intervention to negotiate with the industry to review the factory bus service agreement, following the government’s implementation of targeted subsidies which do not cover factory buses.

Last June, over 1,200 worker bus operators appealed to the government to consider including their sector in the Subsidized Diesel Control System (SKDS) 2.0 due to the increase in diesel prices.

The government set the diesel price at all retail stations in Peninsular Malaysia at RM3.35 per liter starting June 10, 2024, which is the market price without subsidies based on the average of May 2024 according to the Automatic Pricing Mechanism formula.

This targeted diesel pricing and subsidy implementation is expected to save RM4 billion annually and strengthen the country’s financial position in the long term.