File photo of the Malaysia Ringgit
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is expected to spend 8 billion ringgit (US$1.95 billion) on fuel and cooking oil subsidies this year, more than double the 3.78 billion ringgit originally allocated, the finance ministry said on Saturday (Jun 12).
The announcement comes as Malaysia looks to boost public assistance measures amid fresh coronavirus lockdowns imposed this month.
The costs of retail fuel and cooking oil subsidies were set to increase sharply due to a global rise in commodity prices, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said in a statement.
“The government is prepared to bear the higher subsidy expenditure to preserve the people’s welfare and business viability, especially for small traders,” Tengku Zafrul said.
The government spent 6.32 billion ringgit and 2.16 billion ringgit in subsidies in 2019 and 2020 respectively, he said.
Last month, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced an additional US$9.7 billion stimulus package, ahead of the latest round of lockdowns.
Daily infections and deaths in the Southeast Asian country rose to record levels in May, although cases have dipped in recent days.
On Saturday, Malaysia reported 5,793 new cases, bringing total infections to 652,204. Deaths totalled 3,768 as of Friday.
