M'sia driver mistakenly thought petrol purchase was free after Anwar's subsidy

Malaysia has implemented a new fuel subsidy system, where Malaysian citizens can continue to buy subsidised RON95 petroleum, as long as they have their MyKad (the Malaysian version of an IC). 

But there have been some misunderstandings.

Identity Kad

This is part of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's many-pronged initiative to do many things at once: continue the petroleum subsidy for Malaysians, while cutting fuel subsidy leakage to foreign sources, and expanding the uses for the MyKad. 

The Malaysian government recently gave all Malaysians RM100 (S$30.61) in its Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) initiative. 

This allowed all Malaysians to use their MyKad to buy essentials using RM100 worth of credit stored on the identity cards, yes, even that particular Malaysian.

The new BUDI95 initiative, which started on Sep. 30, also uses the MyKad to prove a Malaysian’s citizenship status, allowing them to buy up to RON95 petroleum at RM1.99 (S$0.61) a litre, down from the current rate of RM2.60 (S$0.80), with a monthly quota of 300 litres. 

Free petrol?

But one Malaysian woman appears to have mixed up the two initiatives. 

Says.com relates an interaction between a petrol station cashier and a customer as related on Threads. 

In the post, a customer asks the cashier to sell her RM50 worth of fuel under the BUDI95 scheme.

However, when it comes time to pay, she becomes upset to discover that she will have to pay using her own money.

The cashier vented his frustration, saying that he shouldn’t have to answer to customers who didn’t understand what was meant by a subsidy, and was unable to differentiate it from the SARA scheme. 

He then laments, “Where is the government going to give away 300 litres (of petrol) away for free?”

Subsidy subsides

Malaysia has long subsidised petroleum and diesel fuel for its citizens, and for an only slightly shorter amount of time, regretted it. 

The amount of money that the Malaysian government spends on fuel subsidies has grown significantly over the decades,

When Anwar came into power in 2022, he promised that he would do away with them to cut government spending and raise revenues, money urgently needed for other priorities. 

Unfortunately for Anwar, Malaysia, like much of the world, is going through a significant cost-of-living crisis at the moment, where the cost of many basic household items like food is significantly increasing in price.

Additionally, as cheap fuel acts as an enabler for much of the rest of Malaysia’s economy, a reduction of fuel subsidies raised fears of a “double whammy” cost-of-living increase. 

We like RON

The subsidy is also a source of bad blood between Malaysians and their landbound neighbours, with Malaysians regularly taking to social media in order to shame Singaporeans, Thais, and very occasionally Indonesians, caught “stealing” subsidised fuel, usually RON 95. 

Malaysia managed to end diesel subsidies in June 2024, which cut cases of smuggled diesel in its border states… only to be replaced by cases of smuggled RON95. 

The new subsidy system leaves the RON95 subsidy primarily in place but will, hopefully, cut the leakage of subsidised fuel to “undeserving” foreign vehicle owners. 

It will also allow the Malaysian government to limit the fuel subsidy, as it intends to float the price of RON95 fuel, allowing the price to change in accordance with market demand.

Get comfortable

The New Straits Times reported that Malaysia’s second finance minister, Amir Hamzah Azizan, said that the price of RON95 will remain unchanged at RM2.60 for the month of October to “get everybody comfortable with this price”. 

After October, the prices will “follow market movements” as they currently do for Malaysian diesel.

But Singaporeans will not be able to take advantage of this, because RON95 will remain unavailable for purchase for foreign vehicles, even if they are driven by a Malaysian. 

That means taking videos of foreigners at petrol stations trying to buy RON95 will remain a Malaysian pastime, even if the occurrences of success lessen.

Top image via Unsplash