THE government has no intention of lowering the current ceiling prices of RON95 petrol and subsidised diesel, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said. 

In a written reply published on the parliament website, MOF said this was to prevent the government from continuing to bear a higher level of subsidies. 

“To continue protecting consumers from the effects of crude oil increase in the global market, the government still maintains the ceiling prices of RON95 petrol and subsidised diesel until now, even though the real market prices have exceeded the set ceiling prices,” the ministry said. 

The ministry was responding to a question from Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh (Pasir Puteh-PAS) about the government’s plans relating to the restructuring of petrol subsidies. 

The ministry, however, said the government is exploring ways to provide subsidies in a more targeted manner to reduce wastage. 

It added that subsidy savings could be used on programmes that added value to the national economy. – Bernama, March 6, 2023.