KUALA LUMPUR: At least 6.5 million litres of diesel were misappropriated by industries or smuggled into neighbouring countries daily before the targeted diesel subsidy was introduced, according to the Finance Ministry.
Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said the rationalisation of the diesel subsidy had led to a daily decrease of 23%, or 6.5 million litres, in diesel sales at Peninsular Malaysia’s petrol stations.
He noted that average daily diesel sales dropped from 28.6 million litres in early June to 22.2 million litres in early July.
“This conclusion is supported by data showing that daily commercial diesel sales increased by 4.8 million litres over the same comparison period.
“Given that the current price at petrol stations is RM3.35 per litre, industries that previously purchased subsidised diesel have now switched to commercial diesel,” he informed the Dewan Negara.
According to Bernama, he was responding to questions from Senators Datuk Dr Azhar Ahmad, Datuk Shamsuddin Abd Ghaffar and Datuk Abdul Halim Suleiman, who had collectively inquired about the effectiveness of the Madani Subsidy Assistance (Budi Madani) initiative following the diesel subsidy rationalisation.
Amir Hamzah clarified that some petrol stations near the border in northern Peninsular Malaysia had experienced a drop in diesel sales of up to 50% since the measure took effect.
“This situation reflects a decrease in smuggling activities to neighbouring countries due to reduced profit margins for smugglers,” he added.
Meanwhile, the minister said the government provided a monthly RM200 cash aid for small farmers and smallholders whose annual sales fell between RM50,000 and RM300,000.
He added that eligible small farmers and smallholders registered with the GeoAgro portal of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and agencies under the Ministry of Plantation and Commodities could apply for this assistance.
“Eligible small farmers and smallholders can also benefit from the Subsidised Diesel Vehicle Scheme (SKDS) 2.0 for logistics vehicles to prevent raising transportation costs,” he said.
