KUCHING: Regarding the federal government’s plan to introduce targeted fuel subsidy, a senior Sarawak politician has questioned how they would implement this and with what mechanism.
Households earning more than RM3,900 per month would have to fork out more for RON95 petrol and diesel, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs deputy minister Chong Chieng Jen said on Monday.
The plan, he added, was meant to benefit the B40 group — the bottom 40 per cent of households whose monthly income is below RM3,900.
Now according to Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, the mechanism to do this must be easy to implement so that no one gets left behind.
“What happens to those ‘extended families’ which are very common among the B40 group? Let’s say each family earns RM1,500 and all three families living in one house have a total income of RM4,500.
“Who is entitled and who is not? I’ve just visited fire victims at Kampung Bintawa Ulu. One house has three families made up of nine persons, including children. Do they fall into the criteria of one household or three households? That’s the dilemma. The ministry must have a solution to this problem,” the Santubong MP stressed.
He asked how the federal government could differentiate the household and the three nucleus families in one house.
“Each of the three families is not able to support its own and because of poverty, they lived in one house, so how is the government mechanism to give the subsidies?” he asked further.
Wan Junaidi said there were some of those in rural areas who do not own a car or a motorcycle, or just too far to benefit from such subsidies.
“What about those using out boats and riverine transport? How are they going to benefit from this arrangement? There must be a mechanism for rural Sarawak and it must be inclusive,” he said.
“What if someone buys, uses and keeps his car above 1500cc, rather than buying new ones but is also in the B40 group?
“If the condition of vehicle capacity is one of the criteria then he’ll not be eligible, yet he is in the below B40 group too, how could we ignore him?
“The reason why he does not change his car is because he has no money to spare to buy a new one or the old car satisfies his family’s needs.
“The e-Kasih list is not conclusive. It was tabled at the Caucus for Reformation and Governance meeting two months ago by the EPU. They have admitted the process of updating is ongoing. So the ministry will have to be careful, not strictly follow the e-Kasih list,” he said.
Wan Junaidi added that Chong’s ministry has got to have the list if the ministry were to implement the system anytime soon.
