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The government has said it is looking at the use of MyKad (identity card, or IC) as well as e-wallets as a means to carry out targeted subsidies when the rationalisation programme for RON 95 petrol takes place in the middle of next year.
To find out the suitability of employing these as methods for disbursement, the government said it conducted a 20-month pilot project two years ago to trial the use of MyKad and e-wallets, the Malay Mail reports. According to economy minister Rafizi Ramli, this was done to see their feasability.
“A pilot project was conducted between 2022 and 2023, utilising identification cards and e-wallets at selected gas stations. So it has already been tested. In terms of eligibility verification at the back end, the central database hub (PADU) has been operational and applied in several use cases,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat.
Rafizi revealed this in his response to a supplementary question from Kuala Krau MP Kamal Ashaari, who asked whether the government had tested the implementation and was not utilising an “announce first, research later” approach. “The ‘announce first, research later’ came only from the opposition,” Rafizi said.
The possibility of utilising a two-tier price mechanism was also brought up again, when Rafizi replied to a question from Pulai MP Suhaizan Kayat, who requested details about the mechanism for using identification cards to verify eligibility for the RON 95 subsidy.
“Generally, the first part, determining eligibility, is developed by the economy ministry, while the second part, implementing the two-tier pricing mechanism for RON 95 purchases at petrol stations, is handled by the finance ministry,” Rafizi explained.
He added that the economy and finance ministries are currently reviewing and refining the detailed mechanism for implementing the subsidy. “The final criteria and mechanism will be presented to the Cabinet, in line with the implementation timeline, targeted for mid-2025,” he added.
He said the government acknowledges the challenges in implementing the project. “These include infrastructure issues, particularly, slow internet access in rural areas and damaged ID card chips, risks of identity verification and potential misuse of ID cards,” he explained.
Rafizi said that there is no perfect method for implementing the fuel subsidy system but the government will choose the best one that will not cause a drastic increase in the prices of goods. “Most importantly, the government will emphasise efforts to control the prices of goods and inflation,” he said.
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