KUALA LUMPUR – The total amount of subsidies is expected to reach nearly RM80 billion this year, the largest amount in history, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said.
In the 100th People’s Financial Report released today, he said that to reduce inflationary pressures on the people, the government has provided various consumption subsidies on petrol, diesel, liquefied petroleum gas, cooking oil, flour, and electricity.
“Overall, the projected consumption subsidies expenditure for 2022 is the highest amount of subsidies in history ever borne by any government.
“When added to other assistance such as social welfare assistance, agricultural assistance, fishermen aid, and so on, the total subsidies are expected to be close to RM80 billion for 2022, which is the largest amount of subsidies in history,” he said.
However, he said the government continued to implement policies that in general aimed to curb inflation, avoid excessive price increases, and help those in need of direct assistance.
He said the policy will produce a controllable situation, especially when compared to other countries.
“A study on the holistic cessation of subsidies and the rechannelling of those savings to those in dire need is part of the government’s strategy to ensure the country’s fiscal sustainability in the medium and long terms,” he said.
Tengku Zafrul said large amounts of government funds have been spent to address the impact of the pandemic, including saving people’s lives through national vaccination programmes as well as maintaining employment and business capacity through wage subsidy programmes.
He said in an effort to rebuild the country’s funds and fiscal resilience, the holistic cessation of subsidies reflected the government’s fair and responsible attitude in ensuring the fate of the B40 group is safeguarded.
The minister said the ministry is also reviewing the country’s fiscal resources, which need to be strengthened to rebuild Malaysia’s socio-economic resilience, especially for the B40 and M40 groups.
“This government’s foresight also aims to reduce the indebtedness of our children and grandchildren in the future,” he said.
Meanwhile, the report showed that a total of 92 companies had applied for the Danajamin Prihatin Guarantee Scheme as of June 10, which saw a total of RM2.08 billion in guarantees approved for 61 companies.
For the wage subsidy programme, the government has channelled more than RM20 billion in total to more than 350,000 employers to maintain the employment of nearly three million local workers, in its effort to reduce the unemployment rate.
Under Wage Subsidy Programme 4.0, a total of RM2.555 billion has been channelled to 163,431 employers to continue operating and maintain employment for 1,916,733 employees as at June 10.
Meanwhile, a total of RM183.123 million was channelled to 7,385 employers to continue operating and maintain employment for 105,300 employees under the Wage Subsidy Programme 5.0 for the same period. – Bernama, June 26, 2022
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