The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has said that the detailed mechanism for the implementation of RON95 petrol subsidy rationalisation will be announced by end-September, in line with the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s statement last month.
In a written parliamentary reply, first reported by Bernama, the ministry said that the subsidy targeting mechanism is being actively developed and tested to ensure smooth execution upon rollout. “This includes refining data from agencies such as the National Registration Department, Road Transport Department (JPJ), and the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM),” the statement said.
The statement was made in response to a question from Hulu Langat Member of Parliament, Mohd Sany Hamzan, who asked for an update on the subsidy retargeting implementation, particularly the front-end and back-end phases announced by the Ministry of Economy.
It was also revealed yesterday by Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan that the mechanism will also utilise data from PADU, the National Central Database spearheaded by former economy minister Mohd Rafizi Ramli.
PADU currently has 30.4 million individual profiles, which contain information on demographics, locality, socioeconomic and occupation status, income, education, vehicle ownership, ‘poverty status’ (status kemiskinan), as well as the type of assistance they receive, if any.
In addition to the 55% of households registered on PADU during the first phase, the database also integrates data from 204 government agencies directly. “This will be the first detailed use of PADU data,” said Amir Hamzah, who is also the acting economy minister after Rafizi resigned in May.
Aside from the RON95 targeted subsidies, PADU data can also be used by other government department for “data-driven decision-making”. To date, the government has approved nine applications to utilise PADU data from various agencies, he added.
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As announced by the Prime Minister, the new RON95 subsidy rationalisation provision will see eligible Malaysians benefit from an even lower petrol price of RM1.99 per litre, down from the current subsidised price of RM2.05/L. Non-citizens and the “ultra-rich”, however, will not be eligible for the new subsidies, and will be required to pay for petrol at their unsubsidised market rate, which as of writing today, is priced from between RM2.64 to RM2.69 per litre, according to unsubsidised petrol station Double Petrol.
The actual mechanism for implementation has yet to be revealed, but it was previously revealed that the MyKad identity card will play a part in determining eligibility at the petrol stations.
