Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz speaks during the launch of the ‘Semarak Niaga Keluarga Malaysia’ initiative in Kuala Lumpur February 21, 2022. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa
KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 — Putrajaya could pay up to RM28 billion in subsidies for petrol, gas and diesel this year as the Russia-Ukraine war has disrupted supplies, pushing prices that are already elevated further up, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said today.
Global brent prices have shown an uptrend since last year, reaching US$85 (RM357) a barrel in January 2022 from US$30 in the same period last year, causing subsidies to rise tenfold to RM2 billion that month, Tengku Zafrul told the Dewan Rakyat during Question Time.
Putrajaya could pay even more now as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has pushed global oil prices to US$100 a barrel or roughly RM420, the highest since 2014. The Malaysian government is already paying up to RM1.65 for every litre of RON95, Tengku Zafrul revealed.
“If the price continues to stay above US$100 a barrel, the amount we will be paying for subsidies will reach RM28 billion,” he said.
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