Govt won’t cut Budi95 quota based on income, says Treasury

Govt won’t cut Budi95 quota based on income, says Treasury

Treasury secretary-general Johan Mahmood Merican says the priority is to analyse fuel usage and curb leakages before debating income-based quotas.

Petrol 95
Treasury secretary-general Johan Mahmood Merican said the government will first analyse Budi95 fuel usage data before considering any changes.
PETALING JAYA:
The government has no plans to reduce the Budi95 fuel subsidy quota based on household income to avoid restricting Malaysians’ spending, despite calls for a more targeted mechanism, says Treasury secretary-general Johan Mahmood Merican.

Johan said the priority is to analyse data from the programme’s launch to assess usage patterns and the effectiveness of implementation, Bernama reported.

“Let’s first analyse the data to look for potential unusual utilisation before we look at changing the parameters,” he was quoted as saying during a fireside chat at the CGS International 18th Annual Malaysia Corporate Day 2026 today.

“It has been a major change for the country, so we do not want to ‘tweak’ with it too much in the short-term.”

Johan Mahmood Merican.

Johan said the government is prioritising preventing leakages, such as foreign consumption or companies exploiting subsidised fuel.

“Whether we should come up with a tiered mechanism, maybe people earning more than RM20,000 should no longer benefit … that is not on the table at the moment, ” he said.

On the 300-litre monthly quota, he said government figures indicate that the average consumption is about 83 litres per month, with 90% of eligible users consuming less than 200 litres.

Kamil Munim, who serves as a political secretary to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in his capacity as the finance minister, had previously said that the top 15 percent of income earners may be excluded from the Budi95 fuel subsidy in future phases.

The Budi95 programme was introduced at the end of September 2025 to ensure that RON95 petrol subsidies benefit only eligible Malaysians, while curbing leakages to foreigners and commercial entities.

Under Budi95, Malaysian citizens aged 16 and above who possess a valid driving licence can purchase up to 300 litres of RON95 petrol per month at the subsidised price of RM1.99 per litre.

Any additional fuel purchased beyond this quota will be charged at the market rate.

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