MEDIA practitioners in Johor are echoing calls by Gabungan Kelab Media Malaysia (GKMM) to retain their Budi RON95 quota at 300 litres per month.
The journalists based in Johor Baru say the 200 litres of subsidised petrol, enforced on April 1, is far from sufficient, especially since they need to travel across districts in pursuit of news.
Journalist Nur Fatin Mohmad Kadenen, 33, said just beyond mid-month, she had less than 90 litres remaining of her quota and would soon have to bear the full cost of skyrocketing petrol prices.
“My quota is almost used up as we travel a lot for our jobs.
“We go from one place to another almost every day for work, and sometimes assignment locations require us to travel out of the district.”
Nur Fatin, a Bernama Johor bureau staff, hopes that the request will be considered, as the media play an important role in disseminating information to the public.
“The cost of living is now high, making the burden of having to pay the full price of petrol even heavier,” she added.
Oriental Daily journalist Liew Boon Chong, 45, said most media companies’ state bureaus have small teams.
“Since we don’t have that much manpower, we need to cover more assignments, which requires more travel.
“The quota is definitely insufficient. I have less than 100 litres left by the second week of the month despite cutting down on travel outside of work.
“If there is a major incident like an election, we will surely be travelling more, and the 200 litres is far from enough to cover it,” said Liew.
Makkal Osai journalist K. Kogila Devi, 42, said the reduced quota, coupled with the nature of her job, left her with little fuel to spare for personal use.
“Apart from daily travel and occasional assignments in other districts, I sometimes have to drive to my office headquarters in Kuala Lumpur for meetings or other urgent matters.
“Most of my subsidy quota goes towards that, leaving me with very little or none left to use for other personal use, including picking up and sending my daughter to school and dance classes.
“With the 300 litres, I would at least have just enough to last until the end of the month without having to fork out extra money,” she said.
GKMM president Mohamad Fauzi Ishak said the coalition, which comprises 14 media groups nationwide, had been receiving complaints from media personnel struggling to carry out their duties due to the reduced fuel quota.
“GKMM is urging the Government to grant a special exemption to registered media practitioners, including journalists, photographers and videographers, to continue receiving the 300-litre quota as before.
“This will help media practitioners carry out their duties while also easing their financial burden amid the current challenging cost increases.”
Fauzi, who is also Johor Media Club president, said while GKMM understood the ongoing challenges following the Middle East conflict, it hoped the Government would consider this request.
“GKMM recognises the rising costs and fuel subsidy expenditures borne by the Government to ensure that the public continues to enjoy reasonable or lower prices, even though market prices have seen a sharp increase in a short period.
“However, the Government’s decision to reduce the Budi RON95 quota to 200 litres per month has begun to pose significant challenges for media practitioners carrying out their duties,” he added.
