After midnight today, pump prices of diesel will no longer be at rates subsidised by the government. As one of the moves towards making subsidies more targeted towards groups that really require them, the government will stop the fuel subsidies that have been costing millions of ringgit.
However, in the interests of economic stability so that there is no sudden impact on running costs for many sectors, especially the commercial and agriculture sectors, there will be a monthly payment under the BUDI MADANI programme to help offset the higher fuel cost.
RM200 will be provided each month to qualified motor vehicle owners, this amount determined based on usage data as well as data from the Statistics Department. Payment will be made to the designated bank accounts of the eligible vehicle owners from midnight today.
Owners of diesel vehicles, including those registered for private use, can apply to be in the BUDI MADANI program at any time. To date, some 30,000 vehicle operators have qualified for the program.
The new pump price will be RM3.35 a litre, an increase of RM1.20 from the present RM2.15 a litre. The price of diesel will follow the same approach as for RON97 petrol which is also not subsidised. It will be updated on a weekly basis based on the Automatic Pricing Mechanism that takes into account various factors besides global oil prices.