UMNO veteran Tan Sri Shahrir Samad urged the Government to introduce RON93 to the public to deter subsidised fuel from being misused by the wealthy.

He made the call following a media report that even the rich have switched to the subsidised RON95 instead of the market rate RON97 as fuel prices continue to soar globally.

“We must avoid this. The rich are also taking advantage of the subsidised fuel. That is why I keep urging the Government to introduce RON93.

“RON93 can be introduced with a large subsidy, after a slight cut on the subsidy given for RON95,” the former domestic trade and consumer affairs minister said in a Facebook post.

On June 17, Malay daily Harian Metro reported that owners of luxury vehicles are using RON95 as opposed to RON97 given that fuel prices have come up to RM4.83 a litre.

The rich feeling the crunch

In a survey conducted by the daily, the found owners of Toyota Vellfire, Land Rover, BMW and Mercedez Benz are queuing up at petrol station to fuel up using RON95, priced at RM2.05 a litre.

Touching on the matter, Shahrir said the Government must look into introducing RON93 so that the lower income group who use motorcycles can have a cheaper option.

“If we get this right, we can lower the subsidy cost and channel it to the targeted group,” he opined.

It is to note that Malaysia used to have RON92 but it was phased out in 2009. Although calls have been made in the past to reintroduce the fuel but it was rejected by the Government due to its poor quality and risk to the environment. – June 20, 2022