Govt defends giving RON95 subsidies to all Malaysians
Finance minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan has defended the government’s decision to extend RON95 petrol subsidies to all Malaysians regardless of income, saying that the current system still delivers meaningful savings.
Amir was responding to criticism that subsidies for higher-income groups should be phased out to maximise savings.
“The government always needs to take into account the realities faced by people on the ground. With the system we have now, we are still achieving savings,” he said during a media briefing.
He said it was important not to dismiss the value of the savings, even if the figures may seem modest to some.
“Is RM2.5 billion small or big? Every ringgit saved will be used in other ways to benefit the people,” he said.
The government initially estimated savings of up to RM8 billion from the RON95…
