KUALA LUMPUR: The government has been urged to give a full explanation over the RM25.03mil tender to develop the subsidy mechanism under its newly announced petrol subsidy scheme, says MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
Dr Wee, who is also the Ayer Hitam MP, said the government should reveal the number of studies conducted, the purpose of the study and how much money was actually spent to come up with the mechanism.
"Why do you need to spend some RM25mil on that kind of mechanism," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby on Tuesday (Oct 8).
The government announced on Sunday that the price of RON95 will float according to the market once the targeted fuel subsidy scheme kicks off in January next year. Under the scheme announced by Domestic Trade and Consumer Ministry, only recipients of the Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) who are based in Peninsular Malaysia are entitled.
Dr Wee said the government already has a database for information about the targeted group and should not have paid to come up with such a mechanism.
"This is not something that is complicated. In the end, people are still angry and they are disappointed with the announcement," he said.
He said that the petrol subsidy scheme was announced in the previous Budget but has yet to be implemented.
"You promised to implement it in the second quarter of this year, why haven't you implemented it," he said.
At a separate press conference, PAS deputy president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said he was shocked to find that the government had paid RM25mil to come up with the mechanism for the scheme.
"Why is it so expensive to develop a scheme for RON95 petrol. Who are the people behind it? How many individuals," said the Kubang Kerian MP.
"I think the scheme as a whole also is not a concrete solution to help the poor," he said.
Asked if the scheme was better than the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) payouts, Tuan Ibrahim said the quantum for the scheme was too low.
"It does not give much impact. BR1M was much better because recipients in the bottom 40 group received the aide directly," he added.
