Kota Kinabalu: The Government has yet to set a timeframe for a formal review of the Budi Diesel quota structure, with Finance Minister II Senator Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan saying any reassessment will depend on data gathered since the subsidy scheme’s rollout.
“We will look at what the data tells us,” he said, on whether a review period had been built into the scheme.
“For diesel, we started this process only about five days ago for Sabah and Sarawak. Our focus is to first make sure the system runs properly, that everybody who is eligible can use it,” he said.
The introduction of the 200-litre subsidised diesel quota, with an extra 100 litres available for certain vehicles, had triggered unease and protests across Sabah, with local leaders, unions and tourism operators arguing that the cap did not account for the State’s vast distances and rural infrastructure challenges.
“For the overall quota, it will take some time. But for selective individual circumstances like vehicle ownership, based on feedback we will see, then we send our team down to talk and understand what is happening,” he said.
He pointed to Budi 95 as an example, noting its quota was refined only after data showed fewer than one per cent of users consistently exceeded 200 litres, prompting the quota to be reduced from an initial 300 litres.
On whether special consideration would be given to interior communities in Sabah who rely on four-wheel drive vehicles, given Sabah’s geography, he said the base quota for Budi Diesel had been set at 200 litres, with an additional 100 litres allowed for those with higher demand such as small business owners, traders and residents in the interior who need to travel frequently.
“More than 200,000 individuals and vehicles nationwide had been approved for the additional quota as of Saturday, with over 22,000 of those approvals coming from Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan combined,” he said.
A Finance Ministry statement issued on Sunday put the figure at nearly 200,000 four wheel drive and pickup truck owners nationwide approved for the additional 100 litres, raising their monthly entitlement to 300 litres from July onward.
Of that number, more than 174,000 were in Peninsular Malaysia and over 22,000 in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.
The Ministry said the additional allocation accounted for the higher diesel usage among pickup truck and four-wheel drive owners, including for small and medium scale business use and travel to rural and interior areas.
“The Government understands that for owners of diesel pickup trucks and four-wheel drives, these vehicles are not just for daily travel but are also used to earn a living and support family needs. That is why this additional 100 litre facility has been provided,” Amir Hamzah said.
He said the government had also allowed family members to apply to transfer a vehicle’s fuel quota to another person, addressing cases where a registered vehicle owner was not the one actually driving or using the car, such as children who had purchased vehicles for their parents or siblings.
“Since we started, I have already seen applications received to transfer the quota,” he said, adding that the mechanism was meant to ensure the subsidy reached those who genuinely needed it.
He said more than 2,000 such transfer applications had been received through the Budi Madani portal as of July 4, and that vehicle owners could alternatively update ownership records through the Road Transport Department, with the government waiving the ownership transfer fee for diesel vehicles for three months from July 1 to ease the process.
On whether registered service providers operating in the interior could be given fleet cards to better serve residents who need to travel into town, Amir Hamzah said this was being looked at.
He said any adjustments to such mechanisms would only be made after the government’s team engaged directly with affected communities to understand their circumstances.
Present was Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn Bhd and Shell Timur Sdn Bhd Managing Director Shairan Huzani Husain as well as Sabah KPDN Director Shahril Nizam Shahidin, among others.
