BARELY making RM1,600 a month with a wife and two children to feed, Arisdin Ismail is the face of the working-class Malaysian that the targeted petrol subsidy scheme (PSP) is supposed to help.

Under the PSP which begins next year, people like Arisidin could qualify for either RM12 per month if they own a motorcycle below 150cc or a car below 1,600cc. 

But when Aris checked on the PSP website to see whether he qualified, it showed that he didn’t.

Aris could only shake the head in disbelief while his neighbour Hattan Rosman was livid.

“This is why everyone I know is angry at the government,” said Hattan, a retiree who raged about how both the Pakatan Harapan federal and Selangor governments had cut back on aid for his family.

“First, they cut back on what we poor people get and now they won’t even give the subsidies that they promised,” Rosman told The Malaysian Insight.

Rosman’s anger and Aris’s frustration were repeated by many other working-class consumers in The Malaysian Insight’s interview of 10 families in the Klang Valley on the PSP.

Small-time food traders told The Malaysian Insight they are worried that costlier RON95 means higher business costs and lower earnings.

Wage-earners like Arisidin, meanwhile, are sceptical that they will receive PSP payments after the red tape they experienced in getting aid, such as Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH).

Many are especially angry that the government is further burdening them after it cut back on other handouts, such as school supply and uniform subsidies, and funeral expenses.

Once the PSP starts, the price of RON95 petrol will be floated just like its more expensive cousin RON97, whose price fluctuates weekly.

At present, RON95 is capped at RM2.08 per litre.

In its reasoning for the PSP, the government said that it is channelling the petrol subsidy to those who really need it – the poor who use smaller vehicles.

The current fuel subsidies are benefitting those with luxury cars and bikes.

Factory worker Patmanaban Ragavani is critical of the PSP.

He is already upset at the government with scaling back aid for funeral expenses which used to be given out before 2018. Under the Selangor government’s scheme, each family were eligible for RM1,000 to cover the funeral costs of a senior citizen.

“My wife just died last week. In the past, they used to give money for funerals and now they don’t,” said the 56-year-old living with a son.

“I am very angry with the government. I actually gave money to Tabung Harapan to help the government,” said Pamanaban, his voice rising and drawing looks from diners in a restaurant where this interview took place.

His mood didn’t improve when told of the sum in the PSP.

“How are we supposed to get it? No one tells us anything. How is it enough? RM12 is not enough. One full tank is already RM8,” he said pointing to his 1,000cc motorcycle.

Delivery failure

Pollster Ilham Centre had predicted the outrage that will follow the PSP, saying it will further erode support for the PH administration.

Although the subsidy will be channelled towards low-income folk in the form of monthly payments, the perception of rising petrol prices will be hard to counter, said its head of research Dr Mohd Yusri Ibrahim.

“Pakatan has lost the perception war. People will not care what kind of mechanism is used because what they see is the petrol price going up,” Yusri said.

All 10 of the families interviewed have heard of the PSP but no one knew how to apply for the subsidy or to check whether they were eligible.

Nine of the 10 also felt that the subsidy won’t cover the rise in petrol prices.

They only found out about the link to the PSP page on the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry’s website when it was shown to them by The Malaysian Insight.

According to information on the site, only those who already receive the BSH monthly cash aid are automatically eligible.

Others who own vehicles that qualify for BSH will have to check and apply through the website.

Hawker Ramli Dahlan said he has seen how inefficient the government’s delivery system is and feels that not all those who qualify will receive the subsidies.

“I know many people from this village who are poor, who work odd jobs but because they don’t have the proper documents, they couldn’t even get BSH,” said the 54-year old of Kg Kenangan.

“If the government wants people to get these subsidies, they have to work on the delivery system.”

Burger seller Saiful Mat Saad, 45, believes that his revenue and monthly expenses will go up and that the subsidy will hardly offset the rise in RON95 prices.

“Nowadays a full tank of petrol, even for a motorcycle, is RM7 to RM8. My wife, who uses a motorcycle, has to fill it twice a week to travel to work. RM12 is not enough to cover the rise in prices.” – December 4, 2019.