KUALA LUMPUR – Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli has defended Putrajaya’s decision not to announce the subsidy rationalisation sooner, saying that this strategy was necessary to keep the prices of goods under control.
The minister explained that if the government had announced the implementation of the targeted diesel subsidy earlier, traders might have used it as an excuse to impose a series of price hikes.
“That is why it was decided that the government should announce its decision only once everything is finalised at the federal level, to minimise the risk of prolonged price hikes.
“Hence, it is better for the decision to remain known only to the government until everything is finalised,” said the minister in Dewan Rakyat today.
Rafizi was responding to Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee (Beluran-PN), who asked the former whether the “surprise approach” taken by the government would help alleviate the people’s burden.
Separately, Rafizi also said that Padu’s data is being used in cross-checking applications made by Malaysians who want to continue receiving diesel subsidies under the Budi Madani scheme.
He said that prior to Padu’s introduction, applications made for the government’s aid schemes had to be checked individually with various agencies, such as the Internal Revenue Board and the Road Transport Department.
The checking process becomes slower when hundreds of thousands of applications are submitted, he said.
“But now, any applications made (by the public) to join or get benefits from the Budi Madani (scheme) will undergo a cross-checking process,” said Rafizi when responding to Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong (Ayer Hitam-BN), who asked whether data in Padu is being used for the Budi Madani scheme. – July 11, 2024