In his special speech announcing new measures being undertaken by the government to help ease the burden on the rakyat, prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim revealed that the plan to implement the RON 95 targeted petrol subsidy remains on track, with details of the fuel rationalisation plan to be announced by the end of September 2025.
More importantly, he said that the majority of Malaysians will not be affected by the move, because the price of RON 95 petrol will actually be reduced when the targeted subsidy of RON 95 petrol begins, with Malaysians set to enjoy a lower RON 95 pump price of RM1.99 per litre.
“This will certainly benefit around 18 million car drivers and motorcyclists, including youth as young as 16 years old and gig workers. This targeted approach is in line with the government’s efforts to optimise national resources for the benefit of the people, and reduce subsidy waste,” he said in his speech.
He added that in 2023 and 2024, the money the government has spent on RON 95 subsidy alone is estimated to have cost nearly RM20 billion a year, and that though world oil prices have declined this year, the price of RON 95 petrol without subsidy is still around RM2.50 per litre, far higher than the subsidised price people were paying.
He also reiterated that besides the ultra rich, foreign citizens will also have to pay the unsubsidised market price for RON 95 when the scheme is implemented. No details of the implementation mechanism were revealed, but as reported previously, it is expected that the use of MyKad will be involved in the plan.
It has to be said, however, that while the new price of RM1.99 per litre for our base fuel sounds like a big reduction, it’s worth remembering that it’s only a six sen decrease from the current price of RM2.05 per litre. To put that into context, filling up RM50 will soon get you 25.13 litres of RON 95, up from 24.39 litres now. Still, every sen counts, so that’s a positive step.
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