KUALA LUMPUR: The government's handling of electricity tariff hikes, would indirectly increase the cost of living by raising production costs, says Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob
"The typical outcome of an electricity tariff hike is an increase in production costs, which will inevitably be passed on to consumers, including the 85% of households who are supposedly unaffected," the Bera MP said when debating the motion of thanks on the Royal Address in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (Feb 13).
From 2015 to 2022, he said the base tariff increase was modest, around 3.7%, from 38.53sen per kilowatt to 39.95sen per kilowatt.
However, the base tariff for this year to 2027 has been raised sharply by 14.18%, from 39.95sen per kilowatt to 45.62sen per kilowatt, he said.
"What is the government's plan to address the rising cost of living?
"The claim that 85% of households are unaffected is simply not true. When diesel prices increase, businesses inevitably pass these costs on to consumers.
"While electricity price hikes may not seem to have a direct impact, the indirect effects are clear: the cost of goods will rise.
"People are already burdened by rising living costs, and with these electricity tariff increases, prices will only go higher," he added.
Ismail Sabri also called on the government to have a clear mechanism to target fuel subsidies and expressed scepticism about claims of significant reductions in extreme poverty.
He pointed out discrepancies between government statements and ongoing welfare and zakat distributions in states like Negeri Sembilan, questioning how Kuala Lumpur's extreme poverty figures have risen despite previous claims of achieving zero extreme poverty status. "The government needs a long-term strategy to eradicate extreme poverty and prevent people from falling back into it.
"Without careful planning, the number of hardcore poor and the poor will increase, further burdening the people," he said.
