Malaysia raises fuel subsidy by 10%

The Malaysian government increased its petrol subsidy by almost 10% to ensure the price of RON 95 remains at RM1.90 (US$0.59) per liter, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. In his blog, Najib said the government, besides proposing a supplementary budget, would also have to increase its investment through the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) to balance off the extra expenditure. “Transportation costs make up a considerable proportion of the rakyat’s daily expenses, particularly for the urbanites. The onus is on the government to slow down and manage the ever escalating fuel cost without jeopardizing other budgeted expenditures on development,” he wrote. “At the same time, the world economy is experiencing recession, mainly attributed to the Euro zone crisis and the U.S. It is my incumbent duty to mitigate the impact of such global downturn on Malaysians, as well as to maintain persistent economic growth at the same time,” he wrote. (April 18, 2012)