“That dividend is to be spent in the remaining four months of this year. That is a short time period,” PKR MP Rafizi Ramli said in a live Facebook telecast today.
“If the additional dividend is spent on other things that don’t directly benefit the public, like on campaigns or to go overseas, then it’s an insult to the people.”
His call came after Petronas president and group chief executive officer Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said last week that the group would be paying the additional dividend to the government, over and above the RM13 billion dividend already announced previously.
Wan Zulkiflee had announced a higher pre-tax profit of RM26.1 billion in the first half of this year from the RM10.3 billion posted in the same period last year.
He said the bigger profit was due to higher average realised prices, as well as lower net impairment on assets and well costs.
According to Rafizi, his calculation showed that while global crude oil prices had gone down by more than 50% since 2015, prices of RON95 sold in Malaysia had gone up by an average of 5 sen per litre.
The average price of RON95 in 2014 was RM2.10 per litre, but for this year, it is RM2.15 despite the drop in global crude oil prices, said Rafizi.
He also pointed out that since the weekly petrol price mechanism was implemented in April, the RON95 price had gone up 12 times, remained the same three times, and dropped only six times.
“It’s clear that when Prime Minister Najib Razak removed fuel subsidies and implemented the weekly price mechanism, it proved a disadvantage to the public.
“If it stays this way, the RON95 price will continue to be around RM2.15 to RM2.30 in the next five to six months. It can even go higher.”
He added that the solution was simple. The government only had to set a maximum ceiling price for RON95 and reinstate the fuel subsidy.
“With the additional RM3 billion dividend from Petronas, it’s enough to bring the price of RON95 back to RM1.80 per litre.
“We only need RM5-RM6 billion a year to subsidise when the price goes up more than RM1.80.
“If I’m the finance minister now, I will reinstate the fuel subsidies.
“If Najib does it, it will be good for the people and it will make him popular instantly.”