The government will review fixed quota rates of subsidised diesel for land transport vehicles under SKDS to ensure more accurate subsidy distribution.
PUTRAJAYA: The government will review the fixed quota rates of subsidised diesel for several types of land transport vehicles for goods under the Subsidised Diesel Control System (SKDS) to ensure that the subsidy distribution is more accurate and in line with actual operational needs.
Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said the decision was made following yesterday’s Cabinet Meeting which discussed the status of progress in implementing targeted fuel subsidy through the BUDI Diesel, BUDI95, Subsidised Diesel Control System (SKDS) and Subsidised Petrol Control System (SKPS) mechanisms.
“Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has ordered improvements to be implemented in several aspects to ensure that the people’s feedback is met through strategies and approaches that take into account the people’s cost of living factors, leakage risk management and the country’s position and fiscal space,” he said in a press conference after a field session in conjunction with the implementation of the BUDI Diesel early access, here today.
Armizan said under the improvements, which are expected to be implemented by August, the adjustment of diesel quotas under SKDS will no longer be based solely on average consumption by vehicle type, but will also take into account several technical factors.
Among the factors that will be assessed are the weight with load (BDM), engine capacity, lorry category, fuel consumption levels and the operating pattern of each vehicle.
“There are vehicles of the same type of transport but different BDMs, so if previously there was a uniform fixed quota for the type of transport, which was the same, whereas in terms of usage we know that transport vehicles with larger BDMs in terms of weight, size and also the size of the load, then the fuel consumption would definitely be more.
“So yesterday the Cabinet decided to make an adjustment to the fixed quota not only by looking at the average previous usage, we have the previous usage record, but also by looking at other technical factors so that the quota is more in line with the operating costs of companies involved in the transportation of consumer goods,” he said.
He said the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN), the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) had been instructed to take immediate follow-up action to implement the Cabinet’s policy decisions by identifying appropriate channeling mechanisms including the need for modifications and integration into the existing implementation system.
“God willing, KPDN, MOT and MOF will work closely so that the policy decisions made by the Cabinet yesterday is implemented immediately so that more people would benefit from the targeted fuel subsidy agenda,” he said.
In addition, Armizan said the Cabinet also agreed to expand the distribution of diesel subsidies to small traders who have diesel vehicles such as jeeps and pickups registered in the name of a business or company under the class or code of private business use.
