Expertly switching between woks as he whips up appam, the coconut and rice batter pancakes that draw morning commuters to his roadside stall in a Kuala Lumpur suburb, Raj Kumar harbours anxieties that simmer away beneath the calm: petrol subsidy cuts are looming and costs might quickly rise once more.
“Our suppliers raised costs after diesel subsidies had been lower final yr,” he instructed This Week in Asia. “In the event that they lower petrol subsidies, costs are certain to go up once more.”
The transfer is a part of a bid to slash an unwieldy subsidy invoice that soared to an all-time excessive of almost 80 billion ringgit (HK$148.6 billion) in 2023, with about half spent on gas – each petrol and diesel.
The federal government’s purpose is to finish blanket subsidies and be certain that solely probably the most needy obtain state assist – a transfer that’s fiscally prudent however politically harmful for Anwar with a basic election due by 2028 on the newest.
