Govt ‘testing the market’ with diesel plan, says economist

Free Malaysia Today

Barjoyai Bardai says consumer and household behaviour will influence the rollout of targeted fuel subsidies.  Read More:   Laporan Lanjut:   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5 Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Download FMT News App: Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46 App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP  #FMTNews #Diesel #Subsidy #AnwarIbrahim

Transcript

00:00 The government is cautiously testing the market by introducing targeted subsidies for diesel

00:08 in West Malaysia, says an economist.

00:11 Barjoya Bardai of Universiti Tun Amdu Razak said there might never be a perfect time to

00:15 introduce targeted fuel subsidies, but the government must take small steps to test their

00:20 impact on the population.

00:22 He said past governments have been planning to remove fuel subsidies for the last 16 years

00:27 and spent money on developing mechanisms.

00:29 However, they always ended up abandoning these initiatives.

00:33 He said the government is testing the market with its diesel initiative on a specific aspect

00:37 that has minimal impact.

00:40 He said excluding East Malaysia for now was a smart move because diesel vehicles are more

00:44 commonly used by the general population there.

00:48 On Tuesday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that the Cabinet had agreed to implement a

00:52 targeted subsidy for traders using commercial diesel vehicles in Peninsular Malaysia, estimating

00:57 an annual saving of RM4 billion.

01:00 Meanwhile Niaz Azadullah, an associate fellow at Universiti Malaya, said the right time

01:05 for targeted subsidies is when economic headwinds are weaker, such as when inflation and US

01:10 interest rates are lower.

01:12 He also said the rollout could be timed after minimum wages are raised to provide the necessary

01:16 cushion against the rising cost of living that may follow.

01:19 [MUSIC PLAYING]

Category

Transcript

Recommended