Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says that his government will mull over increasing the BUDI95 quota for delivery riders. If approved, they would be given an additional 50 litres, bringing their total quota up to 250 litres.
“I will bring it up for discussion at Tuesday’s meeting of the national economic action council,” the PM said at a meet-the-people gathering in Tebrau, Johor. “The matter would be carefully reviewed to ensure the riders’ welfare, as delivery riders receive the same monthly quota as other motorists. “I will remind Fahmi (communications minister Fahmi Fadzil), we will find a way to at least raise it by 50 litres, to 250 litres.”
The current BUDI95 quota is limited to 200 litres of RON95 petrol per month, for all Malaysians. Mind you, this was reduced from the original quota of 300 litres, which went into effect on 1 April. The government said that this was a temporary measure, brought on by skyrocketing crude oil prices, which in turn were brought about by the war between Iran and the US and Israel.
As for e-hailing drivers and gig workers, their BUDI95 quota remains the same at 800 litres a month, given the nature of their work and operational needs.
The current price of RON95 is RM3.87 a litre without the subsidy. With the RON95 subsidy, Malaysians only pay RM1.99 per litre, allowing them to purchase a total of RM398 worth of petrol, with the government absorbing the additional RM500 that they would otherwise have to pay sans the subsidy.
There were also reports that the government was planning on reducing the BUDI95 quota further to 150 litres, but the Liew Chin Tong, Deputy Finance Minister, squashed that rumour instantly, stating that news outlets had taken what he had said out of context and that “in no instance did I announce anything on behalf of the government”.
(Source: Bernama, Malay Mail, FMT)
