Malaysian Govt Seeking Solutions to Curb Fuel Price Rise

The government is looking for suitable ways to curb increases in petrol prices should RON95 petrol and diesel in the country exceed RM2.50 per liter consecutively in the next three months. Over the past couple of months, fuel prices in Malaysia has seen an almost uninterrupted rise to where it stands today at RM2.38 per litre (RON 95), RM2.66 per litre (RON 97) and RM2.25 (Euro 2M diesel).

According to reports from theSundaily, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) is taking measures to ensure that the rakyat is not burdened with the rise in world oil prices, and the inflation rate in the mid-term and long-term.

"The government is concerned and understands the impact following the rise of global crude oil prices that are presently more than US$60 (RM250) per barrel. Currently, the government has implemented a rationalisation step towards subsidising petroleum products in line with the trend of rising or decreasing world crude oil prices.

"This measure has been successful in reducing leakage and ensuring targeted subsidies," the Ministry said.

The ministry added that the pricing of RON95 and diesel is dependent on the world market prices of crude oil and foreign exchange rates.

"The current mechanism in place is on a weekly basis whereby the average change in the cost of petroleum products the previous week will determine the price for the following week. If world crude oil prices rise then retail prices of petroleum products also rise, otherwise the retail price will decrease if world crude prices drop.

"However, the Government is still subsidising the public transport sector and fishermen, as well as cooking gas (LPG)," the Ministry added.