MELAKA: Malaysians will be spared higher RON95 petrol prices even if the annual fuel subsidy bill climbs to RM45bil, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The Prime Minister said the government was committed to keeping RON95 at RM1.99 per litre despite global crude oil prices rising to between US$120 and US$130 a barrel.
Absorbing the higher subsidy costs, he said, would protect households, particularly low- and middle-income families, from further pressure on their daily expenses.
"If oil prices continue to surge, the cost borne by the government could reach between RM42 billion and RM45 billion a year and if we raise fuel prices in line with market rates, people would have to pay an additional RM2 or RM3, or at least RM5 a day.
"Imagine those who have to send their children to school and go to work themselves. That could mean an extra RM10 a day," he said.
Anwar was speaking at the Sentuhan Kasih Madani programme and the launch of the National Cost of Living Action Plan 2030 at the Hang Jebat Sports Complex in Krubong here on Saturday (Oct 24).
He said global crude oil prices had nearly doubled from about US$70 a barrel, placing many countries under mounting cost-of-living pressures.
"Malaysia had chosen to continue shouldering a substantial fuel subsidy bill to prevent consumers from facing steep petrol price increases if prices were allowed to float with the market," he added.
Anwar also rejected the view that generous subsidies made people overly dependent on government assistance, saying such arguments must take into account the realities faced by low-income households.
He said economic progress must bring meaningful improvements to people's lives, with national success measured beyond growth, investment and trade figures.
Efforts to advance in artificial intelligence, semiconductors and other emerging technologies must go hand in hand with meeting basic needs, including education, healthcare, employment opportunities and an affordable cost of living.
"We are not talking merely about figures and statistics, but about people.
"The government's approach is guided by the principle of 'reaching for the sky while remaining rooted in the ground', which requires the country to continue exploring new fields of knowledge and technology without neglecting human values, ethics, culture and the well-being of the people at the grassroots level," he said.
