The targeted subsidy programme for fuels and electricity is expected to be implemented starting next year (2024), according to Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli. The time frame of the programme’s implementation is based on the launch of the national central database (PADU) that is scheduled November this year, before being opened to the public in January to verify their socioeconomic status in January next year, as reported by Bernama.
“Whether the mechanism is to be cash transfer or card issuance will be decided from time to time because the priority now is to ensure there is complete information on the socioeconomic status of every household,” said Rafizi. The announcement was made by the Economy Minister on September 11, after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s tabling of the 12th Malaysia Plan Mid-Term Review (12MP MTR) in the Dewan Rakyat.
Earlier this year, Rafizi said that the targeted subsidies will first begin with diesel and electricity to study their effectiveness, before moving on to RON95 petrol. The subsidies will be based around the PADU database, which takes into account a new household disposable income metric that is said to help with a more efficient implementation and distribution of subsidies.
Announced in May this year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also said that the PADU system will form the basis for the government’s policy making in the future. “We feel when we talk about the nation’s future, we must be on the right landscape and that entails having good information that can be actionable. With proper data, our targeted subsidies will be devoid of leakages and embezzlement,” he said in May.
RELATED: Private vehicle physical road tax no longer issued? Not so soon
