IPOH — The government has yet to finalise the income classification for the T15 group (the top 15% income bracket) concerning the rationalisation of petrol subsidies as the matter is still under review, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.
The Prime Minister said the classification is being studied to ensure that only the affluent pay the actual price for petrol, while 85% of the population will continue to benefit from subsidies.
“There are some who are upset, saying how can T15 survive on RM12,000? Who said RM12,000? It hasn’t been decided yet.
“We need to determine whether those in T15 can afford it. If they can’t, then we will set the threshold higher than RM12,000 for T10 or T15; this is still undecided,” he said during his address at the Perak Keadilan Convention here today.
During the presentation of Budget 2025, Anwar indicated that several subsidies would be reduced for the T15 group, which has drawn attention from various parties, urging the government to reassess the household income classification to prevent any gaps in the distribution of assistance and petrol subsidies.
Anwar lambasted certain factions defending subsidies for the T15 group, especially as their incomes range from RM100,000 to RM1 million.
“Why defend this? If someone has a low income, we will take that into consideration. We do not want to burden the people; the key is that 85% will not be affected by this (subsidy rationalisation),” he said. — October 27, 2024