Rep calls for review on fuel subsidy proposed in Budget 2019
MIRI: There is still an ongoing argument about the fuel subsidy scheme proposed by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng in his recent tabling of the national Budget 2019.
Under this scheme, those with vehicles – except luxury cars – with engine capacity of 1,500cc and below, as well as motorcycles of 125cc and below, would benefit from a subsidy of at least 30 sen per litre for RON95 fuel. The subsidy is set to be implemented in the second quarter of next year.
Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau believes that there is a need to review this proposal. He also opines that the decision could have been made without taking into account the situation in Sarawak.
According to him, four-wheel drive vehicles (4WDs) are the best mode of transportation for many people in Sarawak’s rural areas, many of which – including his constituency – are still accessible only via logging tracks and dirt roads.
“Many rural Sarawakians have no choice but to purchase 4WDs to manoeuvre the challenging roads in their areas. This is not a luxury purchase – it is a necessity for them to drive down to Miri and other divisions, from their own ‘kampung’ (villages) in the interiors of Baram. This cannot be avoided – vehicles below 1,500cc are simply not suitable,” he said when asked for comments about the proposed fuel subsidy.
Dennis acknowledged that apart from the price, maintaining the 4WDs is already a burden.
Apart from proposing for a review on the new fuel subsidy scheme, he said it would also be much better for the present federal government to continue providing specific subsidies for vehicles transporting essential goods like cooking gas cylinders, to help the poor rural communities in Baram.
He said the previous transportation subsidies came about as a result of the request proposed by the Federation of Orang Ulu Associations Sarawak, Malaysia (Forum) to the previous federal government, which he said had been a great help to ‘our people’.
“Of course, there is a lot more to be done to improve the system, and I believe that no one government on Earth can make all the systems work perfectly – as long as there are humans living on this planet, there are those who would always try to find their way around the system,” he added.
On land connectivity in Sarawak, Dennis said there are thousands of rural settlements and longhouses connected by hundreds of thousands of roads – the majority of which were constructed by logging and plantation companies on corporate social responsibility (CSR) basis.
“As such, I believe the road network system in rural Sarawak would continue to comprise dirt roads or logging tracks until the foreseeable future. Hence, the necessity (for rural folk) to own 4WDs with minimum engine capacity of at least 2,500cc,” he said.
Dennis’ sentiment is echoed by Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu ( PBB) Mulu Youth chief Usat Bilong, disclosing that many rural residents are ‘not very happy’ about the fuel subsidy scheme proposed by Lim under Budget 2019.
“I believe the Finance Minister should have come here and see for himself the situation in Sarawak’s rural areas – before announcing the proposal,” he said, stating that 90 per cent of rural roads in Mulu are logging tracks.
Adding on, Usat said the proposed fuel subsidy should be reviewed to include vehicles with engine capacity of at least 2,500cc in view of the rugged geographical conditions in the rural areas of not only Sarawak, but also in Sabah.
“They (roads in rural areas) are not all as good as the majority of those in Peninsular Malaysia,” he said.