BATU KAWAN: The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) is prepared to present the concerns of factory bus operators who recently did not receive diesel subsidies to the Cabinet.
Its minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said he believes the issue has been raised with the relevant ministries, including Transport, Economy and Finance, which will provide responses to the concerns.
“As a government, we are committed to listening, even though MITI primarily focuses on the manufacturing sector. We will bring their concerns to the Cabinet,” he told reporters after officiating the ground-breaking ceremony for Plexus’ sixth factory in Bandar Cassia here today.
He was responding to the concerns of factory bus operators who have requested MITI’s intervention to negotiate with industry stakeholders for a review of the factory bus service agreements. This comes in light of the government’s targeted subsidy scheme, which excluded factory buses.
In June, over 1,200 factory bus operators appealed to the government to include their sector in the Subsidised Diesel Control System (SKDS) 2.0, following an increase in diesel prices.
The government has set the diesel price at retail stations in Peninsular Malaysia at RM3.35 per litre from June 10, which reflects the market price without subsidies, based on the average price in May as determined by the Automatic Pricing Mechanism formula.
The targeted subsidy scheme is expected to save RM4 billion annually and strengthen the country’s financial stability in the long term.
