YOURSAY | Reduce petrol subsidies, but gradually and methodically

YOURSAY | ‘If the government is not prepared, best not to announce anything.’

Rafizi: Govt prepared for choppy waters when rolling back petrol subsidy

Commenting has been disabled: This reduction of the RON95 petrol subsidy is necessary.

I belong to the T15 group and agree that T15 should not benefit from petrol subsidies.

These subsidies are strangling the country. Though long overdue, it is not realistic to remove all the subsidies immediately.

The correct approach has to be gradual and targeted. Step by step. I have criticised this government many times, but I agree with them on the need to reduce subsidies.

However, the devil is in the details.

Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli has shown us that he is good at talking but not so good when it comes to implementing things.

So, while I support this proposal of cutting petrol subsidies for the T15, I reserve judgment for now until I see how they implement it. I hope this is successful as the nation needs it to be.

Apanama is back: I am a proponent of removing subsidies since taxpayers’ money is tied to subsidies.

However, at the same time, public sectors such as healthcare and education are denied their proper allocation for improvement.

Look at our public hospitals. Budget 2025 allocated RM45.3 billion for healthcare, but it should be higher than the education allocation (RM82.1 billion) because first, our society is ageing, and second, people go to public hospitals for their routine check-ups.

This is just an example of the disadvantages of fuel subsidies. So far, this government is good at talking, but implementation is poor.

Focusapp: Why don’t they do it before the next general election? The biggest problem the government faces now is the trust deficit.

This administration was tasked with reducing the cost of living. As snarky as it sounds, it did quite the opposite.

What has come down in prices? Measures implemented so far have caused inflation - Madaninflation.

Most people are probably not opposed to cutting subsidies but rather the method of implementation and how the money saved is used.

Will it be used for one specific group? How much can be saved by cutting subsidies to the T15?

How about cutting unnecessary government spending? When prices of many goods and services go up, they never come down.

The right way is to reduce subsidies gradually over several years. Car taxes could be reduced over time to be fair to all.

Bornean: Before you remove fuel subsidies, at least get the country’s public transport system and logistics right.

The sum saved from fuel subsidies can go into maintenance, expansion and improvements.

The whole country’s transport system is in a mess, not just in the Klang Valley.

We are forced to buy our own vehicles so that we can move about.

We have no other alternative as even after 60 years of independence we can’t fix our public transport problems.

Andersonian: Share your mechanism, Rafizi. We currently have subsidies for RON97.

Owners of more high-performance cars are people who can pay for better-performance petrol without subsidies.

Rich people may not consume much petrol as it is likely they would opt for electric cars.

Falcon: So far every action this administration has embarked on, despite their earlier pledges, has deeply hurt those who joined long lines, under the sun, rain and floods to vote them into office.

They forgot all this quickly and gave responses that hurt and angered their supporters.

Instead, every initiative was made for the block who did not vote for them.

Rafizi, how are senior citizens with no source of income, no pensions, living with little savings, not registered in your petty registration exercises and exploits going to fare if they still own vehicles over 10 years old or more using RON 95 or depending on subsidies?

WhiteWalrus5410: Dear Madani government, it is best for the government to maintain the petrol subsidies.

Perhaps the government should implement the following prudent suggestions instead:

1. Increase the road tax on all luxury vehicles (personal registration) by three to fivefold.

2. Increase the road tax for all company-registered vehicles by tenfold.

3. Increase the import or excise duties on all imported vehicles and locally assembled luxury vehicles.

4. Reduce the entourage (size) that accompanies VVIPs. Just two police outriders and perhaps one car is sufficient.

Sometimes, we can see more than 10 cars and 10 outriders following VVIPs. This is a no-brainer, as immediately, the government can save on petrol, driver salaries, and so forth.

At-Sixx: The burden of sharing the petrol subsidy cut is best borne by everyone.

Somewhere down the line, the government has forgotten that the T15 group is already paying a truckload in taxes.

I don’t see any parallel efforts by the government to improve efficiency or reduce wastage.

If this can be done, the T15 may be more receptive to their plans.

Harimau1: Big taxpayers should not be made to shoulder more and more. Their disposable income is now reduced further by higher medical and educational costs.

Johanian2: The government has yet to define who falls in the T15 group. How does one properly differentiate them from the T20 group?

It is a grey area. If the government is not prepared, it is best not to announce anything. Right now, Anwar’s announcement to remove subsidies is keeping the entire population on edge.

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