Masiung greets members of the public upon his arrival at the gathering in Ulu Sapi Nangoh.
BELURAN (July 12): The implementation of the targeted Budi Diesel subsidy in Sabah and Sarawak could lead to serious issues if the new policy is not refined to better reflect the needs of the people, said Sabah State Legislative Assembly Backbenchers chairman Datuk Masiung Banah.
He said the matter should not be taken lightly, and warned the new policy could fuel public dissatisfaction in the Borneo states towards the federal government.
Masiung said this after meeting Tongod residents during the GRS Kuamut thanksgiving gathering for outstation voters at the Kampung Tonoting Ulu Sapi Nangoh Hall last Saturday.
He said the current 200-litre quota was unsuitable for Sabah and Sarawak, given the vast distances between rural interior areas and major towns, and urged the federal government to increase the quota to between 300 and 500 litres for each diesel-powered vehicle.
According to him, the geographical size and terrain of Sabah and Sarawak cannot be compared with the smaller states in Peninsular Malaysia.
He said the voices of the people in Borneo should not be ignored, as Sabah and Sarawak are among the country’s largest oil-producing regions.
The Kuamut assemblyman also said the difficulties faced by the people in accessing the targeted diesel subsidy due to overly strict eligibility requirements should be reviewed.
He proposed that the government relax the conditions and allow diesel to be sold again at bulk prices, with subsidy eligibility aligned to the same requirements applied to petrol subsidies.
“The Budi Diesel targeted subsidy places greater pressure on private vehicle owners, especially those living in rural and interior areas.
“We respect the federal government’s efforts to reduce leakages in diesel subsidies, but the road networks and travel distances in Sabah and Sarawak are vastly different from those in Peninsular Malaysia,” he said.
Masiung said the current allocation of only 200 litres under the Budi Diesel programme is impractical for the region due to its geography and the long distances people must travel from villages to major towns.
He cited the example of residents from his constituency, where a trip to Kota Kinabalu for official or personal matters takes five to six hours and consumes about 100 litres of diesel for a one-way journey. A return trip would therefore use up the entire 200-litre monthly quota in a single day.
“It should be remembered that Kuamut (Tongod district) is larger than the state of Kedah and is almost the same size as Johor.
“Many users, particularly farmers in rural areas, own vehicles that are not registered under their names. As a result, they are not eligible to apply for the Budi Diesel subsidy because the vehicles were purchased through company loans or ownership transfer arrangements.
“In many interior areas where there are no proper roads or electricity supply, residents depend on boats for transportation and diesel generators for electricity. These users are also unable to benefit from the Budi Diesel subsidy and are forced to purchase diesel at the fixed price of RM3.97 per litre,” he added.
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