VEHICLE LEVY MAY MISS RON95 SUBSIDY RECIPIENTS - RAFIZI

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 (Bernama) -- Using a vehicle ownership levy may raise the risk of missing out some RON95 subsidy recipients, said Economy Minister Mohd Rafizi Ramli.

He explained that the Central Data Base (PADU), which contains the profiles of Malaysian citizens and permanent residents, shows that roughly 40 per cent of B60 families do not have vehicle ownership registration as they may be using other people's vehicles.

"So here we have a problem... although there are suggestions that using vehicle registration is better, the reality for lower-income families is that they do not have registration because they may be using a vehicle under someone else's name.

"We also faced this issue during the implementation of diesel subsidies... so based on initial data, there is a large mismatch due to different practices on the ground, whether they are continuing to pay for the vehicle or use someone else's name," he said during the Minister's Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was replying to a supplementary question from Suhaizan bin Kaiat (PH-Pulai) regarding the government's view on using a petrol levy targeting method during road tax renewal to ensure smoother operations at petrol stations, as opposed to using identity cards for (subsidy) eligibility verification.

Mohd Rafizi said that the government is aware that there is no perfect method to implement RON95 petrol subsidy rationalisation, as every proposal will come with operational, cost and fraud risks.

"However, what the government prioritises is controlling the price of goods and curbing inflation... and based on considerations, although the method chosen by the government, which involves a two-tier pricing system at petrol stations, also carries risks, it is seen as something that can be improved over time.

"...compared to using other methods that would only lead to a sharp rise in inflation and would be difficult to correct, such as lowering the price of goods, which would burden the people in the future," he added.

-- BERNAMA