BUDI95 Quota Increase Shows Effectiveness Of Governance - Muhammad Kamil

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 (Bernama) -- The government's decision to increase the monthly BUDI MADANI RON95 (BUDI95) quota from 200 litres to 300 litres demonstrates the effectiveness of fiscal savings and the MADANI Government's firm governance in curbing leakages of public funds, said the Finance Minister's political secretary, Muhammad Kamil Abdul Munim.

He said the decision to raise the eligibility limit again was made possible by strict enforcement measures that had successfully curbed the smuggling of subsidised fuel.

He said the fuel adjustment, which came into effect yesterday, delivered on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's commitment while ensuring that the country's long-term fiscal consolidation framework remained intact.

“The adjustment allowed the government to save more than RM15.5 billion in public funds through enforcement by various agencies, with the savings channelled directly back to the people through cash assistance and BUDI MADANI programmes.

“Although international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have called for higher fuel prices, our approach is different because the government's priority is to ensure that rising living costs do not burden the 16 million RON95 users and diesel vehicle owners,” he said during an appearance on Bernama TV's Malaysia Petang Ini programme here today.

On Aug 30, Anwar said the government had agreed to restore the basic monthly eligibility for the BUDI95 programme from 200 litres to 300 litres, while eligible owners of diesel-powered pick-up trucks and four-wheel-drive vehicles would receive up to 400 litres a month under BUDI Diesel.

On March 26, the government announced that the BUDI95 monthly eligibility would be adjusted from 300 litres to 200 litres from April 1, 2026, following the conflict in West Asia, with the subsidised RON95 price remained at RM1.99 a litre.

Muhammad Kamil said the automatic quota adjustment was expected to ease the financial burden on the public, particularly by helping to meet daily travel needs and support domestic economic activity.

He said savings from the targeted subsidy measures had also enabled cash aid allocations, including Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) and Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA), to increase to RM15 billion this year, compared with RM6 billion in 2018.

“This demonstrates that by curbing leakages that benefit the wealthy and foreign nationals, the resulting financial savings can be channelled more effectively to critical sectors such as healthcare, education and community development,” he said.

-- BERNAMA