In a statement, the Pandan MP said the government was breaching its own formula by saying that retail fuel prices were based on last month’s monthly average.

“Going by the monthly average, the pump price for August should be RM1.65 per litre, and not RM1.75 per litre, as set by the ministry.

“This 10 sen a litre paid by consumers is akin to a 10 sen per litre tax, which is what I meant by hidden taxes,” said Rafizi.

“It is a simple issue which brings a huge impact on the majority of people. So if Hamzah is not well versed in his duties and technical matters despite having been on the job for a year, he should resign and give the job to someone who knows about these things”.

Rafizi said it was unacceptable for Hamzah to not know fuel price issues, and urged the latter to publish the government’s formula for determining retail pump prices to convince the people that they were not being “silently” taxed.

Rafizi added that he had raised the issue of fuel prices numerous times in Parliament, and pointed out that he even faced a defamation suit from Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor for a speech he made on fuel prices at a rally.