Over 13 million Malaysians saved RM800 million on RON95 petrol through BUDI MADANI programme in its first month of operation.
KUALA LUMPUR: More than 13 million Malaysians have saved approximately RM800 million through the BUDI MADANI RON95 programme during its first month of implementation.
A total of 13.1 million citizens made transactions worth RM2.66 billion under the subsidised fuel initiative from September 30 to October 30.
The Ministry of Finance revealed that these transactions involved the purchase of 1.33 billion litres of subsidised RON95 petrol with government support.
This comprehensive figure includes over 23,000 fishermen and registered boat users without active driving licences, particularly from Sabah and Sarawak.
Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan stated that BUDI95 ensures Malaysians receive subsidy benefits directly without complicated procedures.
He emphasised that the programme enables the government to redistribute savings into national development and public welfare initiatives.
The implementation has surpassed initial projections with 16.55 million Malaysians now eligible for subsidised RON95 at RM1.99 per litre.
This subsidised price represents significant savings compared to the unsubsidised rate of RM2.60 per litre.
All Malaysian MyKad holders aged 16 and above with active driving licences can purchase up to 300 litres monthly.
The government increased the monthly limit for full-time e-hailing drivers to 600 litres from October 13.
This enhanced allocation benefits nearly 58,000 e-hailing drivers operating across the country.
Private category BUDI95 recipients averaged only 98.2 litres monthly during October.
This consumption level remains substantially below the 300-litre monthly eligibility threshold.
Less than 0.7 percent of recipients had fully utilised their monthly allocation before October 26.
Only 0.6 percent of private users exhausted their complete 300-litre monthly limit.
Merely 0.3 percent of registered boat users without driving licences used their full monthly allocation.
The government commits to continuously improving BUDI95 implementation through regular reviews.
Authorities will reassess additional qualification limits for e-hailing drivers to ensure fairness and comprehensiveness.
Monitoring has identified several unusual usage patterns requiring attention.
These patterns include recipients exhausting entire monthly limits quickly and repeated border-area purchases.
The government will strengthen petrol station monitoring through Finance Ministry and Domestic Trade Ministry cooperation.
Strict enforcement action will be taken against subsidised petrol misuse under the Control of Supplies Act 1961.
The government maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward fuel resale to ineligible parties. – Bernama
