THE total amount of subsidies is expected to reach near RM80 billion this year, which is the largest sum in history, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said.

In the 100th People’s Financial Report released today, he said to reduce inflationary pressures on the people, the government has provided various consumption subsidies consisting of petrol, diesel, liquefied petroleum gas, cooking oil, flour and electricity.

“Overall, the projected consumption subsidy expenditure for 2022 is the highest in history by any government,” he said.

“When added with other assistance such as social welfare assistance, agricultural assistance, fishermen and so on, the total subsidies are expected to be close to RM80 billion.”

However, he said the government will continue to implement policies aimed at curbing inflation to avoid excessive price increases and at the same time, help those in need in terms of direct assistance.

He said the policy is seen to have produced a situation that is considered controllable, especially when compared with other countries.

“A study on the holistic cessation of subsidies and the rechannelling of those savings to those in dire need is part of the government’s strategy to ensure the country’s fiscal sustainability in the medium and long term,” he said.

Tengku Zafrul said large amounts of government funds have been spent on addressing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, including saving people’s lives through national vaccination programmes and maintaining employment and business capacity through the wage subsidy programmes.

He said in an effort to rebuild the country’s funds and fiscal resilience, the holistic cessation of subsidies reflected the government’s fair and responsible attitude in ensuring the fate of the B40 group is safeguarded.

He said the ministry is also reviewing the country’s fiscal resources that needed to be strengthened to rebuild Malaysia’s socio-economic resilience, especially for the B40 and M40 groups.

“This government’s foresight also aims to reduce the indebtedness of our children and grandchildren in the future,” he added.

Meanwhile, the report shows that 92 companies had applied for the Danajamin Prihatin Guarantee Scheme as of June 10, of which, the total guarantee approved was RM2.08 billion for 61 companies.

For the Wage Subsidy Programme, the government has channelled more than RM20 billion to more than 350,000 employers to maintain the employment of nearly three million local workers in an effort to reduce the unemployment rate.

Under Wage Subsidy Programme 4.0, a total of RM2.555 billion has been channelled to 163,431 employers to continue operating and maintain employment for 1,916,733 employees as at June 10.

A total of RM183.123 million was channelled to 7,385 employers to continue operating and maintain employment for 105,300 employees under the Wage Subsidy Programme 5.0 for the same period. – Bernama, June 26, 2022.