KUALA LUMPUR: For Suzana Abdullah, the flexibility of working from home (WFH) on a rotational basis implemented by her company has provided her with significant relief in terms of daily expenses.
Without such an arrangement, the 32-year-old administrative officer at a telecommunications company would have to commute daily from her home in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, to her office at Jalan P. Ramlee here.
"If I had to commute from home to the office, my expenses for petrol, toll and parking would usually reach up to RM400 a month," she told Bernama.
"Traffic congestion also causes fuel to run out more quickly, and I have to send my car to the workshop every three months for maintenance.
"Now with the Budi 95 fuel quota temporarily reduced to 200 litres per month from 300 litres previously, I no longer have to worry about using up the 200-litre quota so quickly," she said.
Suzana, who only needs to come into the office once a week, said the WFH flexibility given by her employer has enabled her to save up to RM700 per month.
However, for Elthan Koo, 38, an IT consultant at a government-linked company in Cyberjaya, the WFH policy means higher electricity consumption at home.
"If WFH is implemented, I would need to move my devices and computer from the office back home for work, as well as turn on the air-conditioning all the time due to the hot weather nowadays.
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"However, I am lucky because I am currently living in a landed double-storey house and I installed 12 solar panels last year to reduce my electricity bill, which previously reached up to RM300 during the Movement Control Order period in 2020," he said.
On April 1, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that federal ministries, government agencies, statutory bodies and government-linked bodies will implement a three-day-a-week work-from-home arrangement starting April 15.
He said the policy is aimed at reducing fuel consumption and ensuring more efficient fuel usage, amid the current global energy crisis.
However, the WFH arrangement is only applicable to government servants working in Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and all state capitals and living more than 8km from their office.
Civil servants working in the security and defence, health and education sectors are exempted from the arrangement.
Private sector employees in Malaysia can request flexible working arrangements, including WFH, under the Employment (Amendment) Act 2022.
Malaysia-based economist Dr Geoffrey William said WFH could offer cost savings for both consumers and the government, especially in reducing fuel consumption and subsidy spending.
"It is a win-win situation in terms of cost savings. Some companies also cover their employees' petrol expenses, so they would benefit from lower costs as well.
"However, the overall impact of WFH may be limited due to the nature of employment in the public sector. Most public sector roles are in essential services such as healthcare, education and enforcement, where remote work is not feasible," he told Bernama.
He said of the estimated 1.3 million public employees in Malaysia, only around 260,000 will be eligible to work from home.
He said based on the three WFH days per week, commuting could be reduced to eight days per month, resulting in estimated savings of 9.4 million litres of RON95 fuel and RM17.7mil in subsidies monthly.
"However, this accounts for only 0.7% of total petrol consumption and 0.4% of subsidy expenditure," he said, adding that to have a more meaningful impact, WFH must be expanded to the private sector.
He noted that if widely adopted across both public and private sectors, the WFH policy can potentially reduce peak-hour traffic by 25 percent and generate monthly savings of up to RM1 billion in fuel costs and subsidies.
"Enforcement of the three-day WFH for half of all employees could cut petrol use by 25% to 30% too.
"At present, the policy poses no potential risk to the economy or government services because too few civil servants will be involved. But the benefits are bigger if it applies to the private sector as well," he said.
According to environmental watchdog Rimba Watch, enabling half of the Klang Valley workforce to WFH could cut Malaysia's fuel subsidies by up to RM169mil a month.
Based on data provided by the Department of Statistics Malaysia and other research sources, the Klang Valley has an employed population of 4.1 million.
Assuming a WFH arrangement for 50% of the workforce, 2.05 million workers would avoid daily commutes averaging 20km each way, with fuel consumption in heavy traffic at 0.11 litres per km.
"Based on these parameters, the average Klang Valley commuter uses 2.2 litres of petrol daily to travel to work. If 50% of the working population works from home, this would save 4.51 million litres of petrol a day, or 90.2 million litres a month.
"Given the current fuel subsidy of RM1.87 per litre, this would amount to savings of RM169mil a month. If the geopolitical climate persists or worsens over a year, the subsidy savings could rise to RM2.03bil," it said in a statement recently.
While the shift to WFH reduces spending on petrol, toll and other commuting-related expenses, it also raises a new concern regarding higher electricity consumption.
This has prompted interest in solutions such as solar energy adoption, as households seek to balance cost savings with sustainable energy use.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Solar Energy Research Institute (Seri) director Prof Dr Norasikin Ahmad Ludin said installing rooftop solar panels could significantly reduce household electricity costs.
She said for a typical landed property with a monthly electricity consumption of between 900 and 1,200 kWh, installing a five to six kWp rooftop solar system under the Solar Accelerated Transition Action Programme (Solar Atap) could reduce electricity bills by 70% to 85%.
Solar Atap replaced the previous Net Energy Metering scheme, effective Jan 1, 2026.
The new programme focuses on high self-consumption with no fixed quota, allowing residential or commercial users to cover 100 percent of their maximum power demand.
"In real terms, a household currently paying between RM300 and RM400 per month could see their bills drop to around RM50 to RM80," she told Bernama in an email interview.
With the base electricity tariff for 2025 to 2027 set at 45.4 sen per kWh, she said the potential savings are substantial, especially if tariffs increase further.
"If electricity tariffs rise by 10% to 20%, the savings become even more significant as every kilowatt-hour generated from solar reduces reliance on higher-cost grid electricity," she said.
She added that homeowners who adopt solar power are effectively hedging against future tariff hikes.
She said WFH arrangements further enhance these savings as higher daytime electricity usage aligns with peak solar generation, allowing households to maximise self-consumption.
Renewable energy solution provider Samaiden Group Bhd chief strategy officer Dr Tee Wu Shun said for homes with higher energy usage, a larger system of solar panels in the 17kWP to 22.5 kWP range may be recommended.
"Battery storage further enhances the system by allowing excess solar energy to be stored and used at night or during blackouts. This is especially useful for households with consistent evening usage and helps maximise self-consumption," he said.
Climate Action Network Southeast Asia director and regional coordinator Nithi Nesadurai said for those in essential services, using public transportation in the Klang Valley can help reduce daily expenses while easing traffic congestion.
"Public transportation is really the solution, not just EVs, because it is not only about rail-based systems such as LRT or MRT but also about strengthening bus networks.
"Improving bus systems could significantly reduce emissions from Malaysia's transport sector, while also easing the financial burden on households affected by rising fuel prices.
"With dedicated lanes, buses can move like trains. They are fast, reliable and more accessible as bus stations can be located closer to residential areas compared to rail stations," he said.
He added that investing in bus-based transport is a practical and low-cost solution that can be implemented quickly to address both congestion and climate concerns.
