KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 27): The meeting of the National Action Council on Cost of Living (NACCOL) on March 20 will discuss the proposal to exempt water and electricity bills from the sales and service tax (SST) hike, the Dewan Rakyat was told on Tuesday.

Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said that matters related to the SST hike were discussed in the Implementation Monitoring Committee meeting two weeks ago.

"The meeting was chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister about two weeks ago...there was a specific paper for us to examine its impact.

"God willing, the matter raised by Ayer Hitam MP will be brought to the NACCOL meeting for further consideration," he said when replying to a question from Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam).

Armizan also said through NACCOL, the government ensures that every policy formulation and programme implemented through ministries and agencies will take into consideration the cost of living elements.

Armizan said that the government had allocated a total of RM58.1 billion in the 2024 Budget for subsidies, incentives, and assistance in addressing various issues related to the people’s cost of living burden.

Among the initiatives that have been or are being implemented are the Madani Rahmah Sales and Madani Agro Sales, Rahmah Cash Aid (STR) and Rahmah Basic Aid (SARA), FlySiswa, MyLesen, My50 Unlimited Travel Pass and Madani Medical Scheme.

"The complete list of initiatives will be shown on the Ihsan Madani portal, which will be launched on March 20," he said when replying to a question from Dr Richard Rapu (GPS-Betong).