KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 — The mechanism for the targeted RON95 subsidy is being fine-tuned and will involve two-tier pricing as well as potentially involve using the MyKad, said Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan.
He said the government will not make early announcements on the subsidy implementation, and that an update is expected after June.
“The most important thing we want to ensure is that the system is robust. We will use two-tier pricing: a non-subsidised price and a subsidised price.
“More than 85 per cent of the population will receive the subsidised price; that is the approach to subsidy targeting in Malaysia,” he said at a press conference during the launch of the RapidKL Open Payment On-Demand system by Prasarana.
Also present at the launch were Transport Minister Anthony Loke and Prasarana Group president and chief executive officer Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah.
Amir Hamzah said the use of MyKad for subsidy retargeting could be based on the system used for the Rahmah Basic Aid (SARA) programme.
Currently, 700,000 people receive SARA of RM50 to RM100 per month on their MyKad, which they use to buy essential goods.
There are 700,000 individuals, and starting next week, this will increase to 5.4 million people who will receive SARA, and they will be using their MyKad.
“There are over 3,500 retail stores and supermarkets that can utilise the MyKad system for SARA. If we can use the MyKad for 5.4 million people with 3,500 stores, it shouldn’t be much different if we use it for RON95 as well,” he said.
— Bernama
