‘It may be painful, but we must listen’: Works Minister backs PM’s diesel subsidy changes, says Putrajaya has to compromise

Dato Sri Alexander Nanta Linggi (file photo)

By Shikin Louis

KUCHING, Sept 17: Works Minister Dato Sri Alexander Nanta Linggi has backed the latest diesel subsidy changes announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, saying the federal government has to compromise to reduce the burden on the people.

Nanta said while subsidy-related decisions could be viewed from the perspective of managing the economy, the government also had to take into account the concerns and calls from the people.

“Sometimes, even though we can think deeply from the economic aspect, perhaps something may be quite painful if we reduce subsidies and so on to manage the economy,” he told reporters after the handover of the retendered Customs Enforcement Office’s Seizure Storage construction project at the Kuching Marine Office in Jalan Bako, Muara Tebas, here today.

He said the federal government could not look at economic considerations in isolation, particularly when measures could add to the burden faced by the rakyat.

“But because of the calls and so on, we also need to take into account the people’s calls.

“So, in the sense of reducing the burden on the people, perhaps we have to make a choice — to compromise,” he said.

Nanta said the government welcomed measures that could ease the burden on the people, noting that this was ultimately the purpose of subsidies.

“We welcome whatever can be said to ease the burden on the people. The purpose of subsidies is nothing other than to ease the burden on the people,” he said.

He was responding to questions on Anwar’s announcement last night on changes to the diesel subsidy scheme.

Among the changes announced was the expansion of the BUDI MADANI Diesel eligibility transfer facility, allowing registered owners of private diesel vehicles to transfer their subsidy eligibility to an eligible Malaysian who is the actual user of the vehicle.

The facility, previously limited to immediate family members, was also expanded to allow owners with more than one eligible private diesel vehicle to transfer the monthly subsidy eligibility for each vehicle to up to three other individuals. — DayakDaily