Ron95 Subsidy Khalid Tells Anwar To Take A Page From Najib S Slogan

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INTERVIEW | Federal Territories Amanah has suggested that the Madani government take to heart a slogan once adopted by Najib Abdul Razak’s administration in its effort to introduce the rationalisation of RON95 petrol subsidies, which is expected to begin in the middle of this year.
Its chairperson, Khalid Samad, said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration needs to improve its method of public engagement for the initiative with various layers of society.
According to Khalid, everyone now understands and acknowledges that the subsidies should not be enjoyed by the wealthy or by foreigners.
“I take note that this issue is expected to be implemented in the middle of the year, and it’s already April.
“Everyone agrees with the objective – that the subsidy funds should go to the poor and those in need. But until today, no one knows how it will be implemented.
“I would like to suggest that the Madani government embrace Najib’s slogan: ‘The era of the government knowing everything is over’, which was a good slogan, although Najib himself did not follow through on it, since much was done without public knowledge particularly in cases like 1MDB,” he said in an interview with Malaysiakini in Shah Alam on Monday.
Previously, the government stated that the mechanism for implementing the RON95 subsidy targeting is still being refined, which may involve a two-tier pricing system and potentially the use of MyKad.
Second Finance Minister Amir Hamzah Azizan said the government does not intend to make any pre-announcements on the implementation of the targeted RON95 subsidies, which would be unveiled during the second half of this year.
He said the use of MyKad to determine eligibility for targeted subsidies could be based on the system used for distributing aid under the Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (Sara) programme.
Aligned with Madani’s values
Khalid said Najib’s slogan aligns with the Madani government’s philosophical values, and therefore, public engagement sessions should be broadened to gather feedback from the community.
“First, present the proposal on how (subsidy targeting) is to be carried out, and allow responses – whether the proposal is good or not, whether it needs to be revised… what’s important is to engage the public.
ADS“Don’t do it like in the case of the diesel subsidy rationalisation, which is still being questioned today – why some people can’t get the subsidised diesel price, even though they’re eligible because they’re not in the T20 or T15 groups,” he said.
Therefore, Khalid suggested the government seek responses from individuals, associations, groups, political parties, NGOs and other relevant parties so that the policy’s implementation can ultimately yield the best outcome.
At the same time, the former Federal Territories minister said everyone must accept that it is impossible to get 100 percent agreement on the proposal.
But at the very least, Khalid said, the government would have engaged the public and obtained various viewpoints.
This time, he said, the government should not announce the implementation of the RON95 rationalisation plan in the same way it ended the universal diesel subsidy.
“We’ll face a more difficult situation because everyone uses RON95, unlike diesel, which is used by a smaller segment of the population.
“So let us decide this together, let us acknowledge that we don’t know everything, and let us propose an approach, then get feedback.
“Maybe those affected will speak up, and if anything has been overlooked, we can improve it,” Khalid said. - Mkini

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