KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 2 — The implementation of the Budi Madani RON95 (Budi95) initiative is a multi-pronged move that not only helps ease the people’s burden but also addresses the issue of subsidy leakage, say academics.
Senior Lecturer at the Department of Finance, School of Economics, Finance and Banking, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) Dr Adilah Azhari, said the implementation of Budi95 could reduce the government’s financial strain from subsidy leakage, which could then be channelled into more critical sectors.
“The savings from the implementation of the initiative can be channelled towards strategic investments, including the development of renewable energy and low-carbon technologies to support the nation’s target of achieving net zero emissions by 2050 under the National Climate Change Policy 2.0,” she told Bernama.
The academic also viewed Budi95 as an important policy to restructure national spending towards a more sustainable path, while raising public awareness of the importance of fairer, targeted subsidies for those who truly need them.
In addition, she said Budi95 should also be seen as part of the nation’s transition towards low-carbon emissions, as Malaysia was among the highest carbon emitters in Southeast Asia after Brunei and Singapore.
Nevertheless, Adilah hoped the government could ensure strict monitoring during the implementation of the initiative to prevent misuse of identity cards, including cloning and identity theft.
Meanwhile, Associate Professor Dr Mazlan Ali of the Perdana Centre, Razak Faculty of Technology and Informatics, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), said the savings from the lower RON95 price were highly significant to the lower-income group.
“Some users now have lower spending than before… there are also those who belittle the amount saved, but to me, this is the government’s effort, and the people should show appreciation.
Mazlan also described public acceptance of Budi95 as very positive.
“I think the acceptance of Budi95 has been overwhelming. We see today on social media, many are praising the government’s move as the lower fuel price has eased the burden of many,” he said.
Budi95 was introduced in phases beginning Sept 27, with 300,000 Malaysian Armed Forces and Royal Malaysia Police personnel being the first to benefit, before being expanded to more than five million Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) recipients in the B40 category on Sunday.
A total of 16 million Malaysians aged 16 and above with a MyKad and a valid driving licence are now eligible to enjoy the subsidised RON95 petrol price of RM1.99 a litre, with each individual entitled to up to 300 litres a month.
The Ministry of Finance (MOF) previously announced that the unsubsidised retail price of RON95 petrol was set at RM2.60 a litre for the period from Sept 30 to Oct 8. — Bernama
