Kota Kinabalu: Deputy Chief Minister I and Works and Utilities Minister’s special officer Goon Thien Shang urged the Federal Government to conduct a detailed study on Sabah and Sarawak’s actual diesel demand before hastily implementing the Budi Diesel scheme next month.
Goon said the government’s intention to curb diesel smuggling was commendable. However, he said many aspects of the scheme remained unrefined.
He said the authorities failed to take into account the high diesel demand in East Malaysia.
Implementing the policy without adequate preparation has inevitably disappointed East Malaysians, who have long advocated for greater recognition of Borneo rights, he said.
Goon, who is also Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) Luyang division chief, said that under the previous system, people in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan were entitled to diesel at RM2.15 per litre with an unlimited supply, subject only to basic limits such as a maximum of 50 litres per refuelling transaction.
However, he said the new system, while lowering the subsidised price slightly to RM2.10 per litre, effectively imposed a strict quota of only 200 litres, with an additional 100 litres available upon application under specific conditions.
More concerning, he said, the Budi Diesel quota must now be shared with the existing Budi 95 petrol subsidy allocation, which is clearly insufficient and unfair to East Malaysian motorists.
He said many rural households in Sabah and Sarawak typically own two vehicles: a petrol-powered car and a diesel vehicle.
The petrol car is mainly used for daily activities such as school runs and household errands, while the diesel vehicle is essential for travelling to remote villages, plantations and workplaces with poor road access.
Under the previous system, the 200-litre Budi 95 petrol subsidy was already barely sufficient for interior families. Under the new arrangement, vehicle owners are now forced to split the same quota to cover their Budi Diesel entitlement.
Although an additional 100 litres of subsidised diesel may be granted upon application, Goon said it remained inadequate given the hundreds of kilometres many East Malaysians travel regularly.
He questioned the fairness of the policy, noting that Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan have long been among Malaysia’s largest contributors to oil and gas revenue.
Yet under the Budi Diesel framework, these regions appear to have had their basic entitlement reduced.
He cited statistics showing that of about 700,000 privately owned diesel vehicles nationwide, around 300,000 are registered in Sabah and Sarawak, reflecting the region’s greater reliance on diesel-powered vehicles.
Goon also said Sabah has some of the country’s worst road conditions, whether along the east-west routes across the Crocker Range and through Telupid or on the Kalabakan Highway, which he described as being in extremely poor condition.
In such circumstances, he said, four-wheel-drive diesel vehicles are a necessity rather than a luxury for Sabahans.
He urged the federal government to introduce improvements alongside the policy, including allowing subsidy eligibility to be transferred to the actual user of a vehicle under reasonable circumstances.
This, he said, would address situations where the registered owner and the actual user are different individuals.
He stressed that policies should not be formulated in isolation.
Only by recognising the unique geography and social structure of East Malaysia, while relaxing quota restrictions and increasing allocations, can the spirit of a truly inclusive Madani Malaysia be realised, he said.
