Fuziah says the BUDI MADANI Diesel system ensures only registered vehicle owners can buy subsidised diesel, closing loopholes for abuse especially in Sabah and Sarawak.
JOHOR BAHRU: The automatic implementation of BUDI MADANI Diesel (BUDI Diesel) is believed to be able to curb the leakage of diesel subsidies at the country’s borders, especially in Sabah and Sarawak which previously received subsidies in bulk.
Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Datuk Dr Fuziah Salleh said the new approach ensures that only vehicle owners registered in the BUDI Diesel system are eligible to buy subsidised diesel at RM2.10 per litre, thus closing the loophole for subsidy abuse.
She said previously, private diesel vehicle owners had to register their vehicles under the BUDI MADANI programme to qualify them to receive assistance of RM400 per month to cover the cost of purchasing diesel.
“Across the Peninsula, there are approximately 400,000 privately owned vehicles that use diesel, while in Sabah and Sarawak, there are approximately 300,000 registered vehicles. Now, only vehicles registered under the BUDI Diesel system will receive a subsidy at a rate of RM2.10 per litre.
“This will indirectly curb leakage at the country’s borders, especially in Sabah and Sarawak because previously it was in bulk and could be purchased by anyone,” she said after inspecting the implementation of BUDI Diesel at a petrol station in Bandar Dato’ Onn today.
Also present was Johor Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) director Lilis Saslinda Pornomo.
Fuziah said the automatic implementation would not only curb subsidy leakage but also ensure that assistance was more targeted to groups that truly deserve it without affecting the welfare of the people.
The Ministry of Finance (MOF) in a statement on Tuesday informed about 700,000 private vehicle owners across the country are enjoying subsidised diesel at RM2.10 per litre through the implementation of BUDI Diesel which began yesterday.
The implementation is expected to benefit about 400,000 private diesel vehicle owners in Peninsular Malaysia and another 300,000 in Sabah, Sarawak and the Federal Territory of Labuan.
According to MOF, the implementation is a significant expansion compared to the previous BUDI Diesel Individu which only involved about 180,000 recipients of monthly cash assistance in Peninsular Malaysia to cover part of the cost of purchasing diesel at market prices.
