No announcement has been made on the start date of the fuel subsidy targeting in order to prevent stockpiling

KUALA LUMPUR: The diesel subsidy targeting date was not announced earlier to prevent some parties from taking advantage of stockpiling and preventing smuggling, said Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.

FMT reported, he said his side already has a date and an announcement will be made when the time comes.

“Sometimes given an early plan, the concealment will happen….they gather stocks quickly because they know in two or three months the price will rise,” he said after launching the 2024 Census of Oil and Gas Services and Equipment (OGSE).

“If we give a date, we will see an increase in smuggling,” he added, when asked if the targeting will be done next Monday, which is the same day Budi Madani aid is distributed to 30,000 applicants consisting of individuals, farmers and commodity smallholders.

Rafizi added that the authorities only have 2,500 enforcers to monitor if there is a situation where a few parties keep diesel supplies.

Previously, the Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living, Armizan Mohd Ali, announced the diesel subsidy targeting date will be made after the Cabinet of Ministers is satisfied with the implementation mechanism, but it remains from this year.

The government previously announced the targeting of diesel subsidies in the Peninsula, but subsidies will continue to be provided to traders who use certain vehicles, certain fishermen, and cash assistance to individual owners of eligible vehicles.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the majority of the people were not affected and continued to benefit from the subsidy; and this targeting needs to succeed to reorganize the public financial structure.

Meanwhile, Rafizi explained that the data in Budi Madani managed by the Ministry of Finance is different from the Central Database Hub (Padu) developed by the ministry.

He explained that Padu contains information on household income, but Budi Madani is geared towards assistance such as diesel cash subsidies that will be distributed based on individual recipient data.

“Padu focuses more on household data… and we start (Budi Madani) with diesel, to give (help) to individuals because the use of diesel is not as much as (the use of) RON95 Petrol,” he said.

He commented on the question raised by many regarding their needs, especially diesel vehicle owners registering with Budi Madani when they had given information through Padu.