UPDATED
SINGAPORE, Nov 13 — The government will begin to introduce revised fuel subsidies by the end of the second quarter next year, the second finance minister said today.
“We will start doing that towards the end of second quarter of next year,” Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah told reporters in reply to a question on when the revised fuel system subsidies would be introduced.
The budget deficit has widened in recent years, in part due to fuel subsidies. The deficit is expected to be 7.4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year and 5.6 percent in 2010
Attempts in 2008 to rein in the subsidies resulted in the Barisan Nasional government falling to its worst ever losses in national and state elections in the history of its 52-year rule, when it lost control of five states to the opposition and the near-customary two-thirds majority in Parliament.
In the 2010 budget, food and fuel subsidies are seen falling 14.7 percent from 2009 to RM20.9 billion out of total government operating spending of RM138.3 billion.
One way to ensure that fuel subsidies are targeted at the poor would be to use the MyKad to include income data. — Reuters
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