KUALA LUMPUR: Prominent economist Professor Dr Jomo Kwame Sundaram has urged the government to subsidise public transport, saying it would help the masses who depend on it, instead of giving fuel subsidies.
"Who uses more fuel? Car owners. So we are not talking about ‘rakyat jelata’ (ordinary people) and the bottom 20 per cent, they have no cars, not even motorcycles. They depend on public transport.
"My own view is that we need to think how we can help subsidise transportation for the bottom 70 per cent, and think less about the top 30 per cent (who can afford cars),” he told reporters when asked on the government’s move to remove the existing petrol subsidy mechanism and gradually float the RON95 petrol price in Peninsular Malaysia from Jan 1, 2020.
Earlier, he chaired a panel discussion titled ‘Growth and Development’ at the two-day Khazanah Megatrends Forum 2019, which began yesterday. - Bernama
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