The subsidies included that for petrol, diesel, cooking gas, cooking oil, electricity, chicken and eggs, he said.

Anwar, who is also finance minister, said the RM2.05 per litre ceiling price for RON95 petrol and RM2.15 per litre for diesel were being maintained by the present government, despite an increase in world market prices.

“We have no plans to lower the ceiling prices since the world oil prices are unstable due to global economic uncertainties.

“This is also to avoid the government being burdened with a higher subsidy expenditure,” he said in a parliamentary reply to opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin (PN-Larut)

Hamzah had asked Anwar about what mechanism the government planned to implement due to high fuel subsidy costs, and also what formula it has to reduce fuel prices in the near future.

Anwar said the big gap between the price of subsidised fuels being sold and the market prices had led to an increased risk of leakage (through smuggling), especially of diesel.

He said targeted subsidies are the way forward. This would also allow the government to spend money on value-added projects and programmes to boost the economy.