Kota Kinabalu: A lawsuit was filed recently by two individuals against the Federal Government over the withdrawal of diesel subsidies in the peninsula and its exemption for Sabah and Sarawak.
Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said he received the writ of summon three weeks ago which also named the Prime Minister and several ministers in the suit.
“The lawsuit targets the Prime Minister in his capacity as the Finance Minister, as well as the KPDN Minister, Minister of Transport, Minister of Economy and the Federal Government.
“The basis of the lawsuit is that we are being unfair and discriminatory for not implementing the re-targeting diesel subsidy across the entire country, simultaneously, rather than only in the peninsula,” Armizan said after inspecting preparations for the coming large-scale “Madani Rakyat Program 2024 Sayangi Sabah” at Likas Sports Complex, Saturday. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is expected to officiate the event next Saturday.
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“The facts are that we are implementing it in the Peninsular Malaysia, and not yet in Sabah and Sarawak because we wanted to first observe how it works in the Peninsular Malaysia.
“Secondly, we recognise that the people in Sabah and Sarawak use diesel-fuel vehicles largely because of necessity rather than being a desire to own the vehicles.
“This is due to the road infrastructure and geographical conditions which require people in Sabah and Sarawak to rely on diesel vehicles,” Armizan said.
He said what most people may not understand also is the significant price gap between goods and services in Peninsular Malaysia versus Sabah and Sarawak.
He said they need to understand that the prices of chicken, beef and other services are much higher in Sabah and Sarawak, even though the salary of those working in public sector are the same.
“The people in Sabah and Sarawak are burdened by this high and wide price gap compared to the peninsula. Hence, we hope that they would understand.”
On the value of the lawsuit, he said he did not remember but may involve millions of ringgit.
He said this issue has been a hot topic in Parliament, with some opposition members accusing the Government of acting it for political reasons, which he is denying and dismissing those claims.
“We are providing diesel subsidies in the peninsula and continuing them elsewhere, but the implementation is targeted.
“We are no longer selling bulk diesel at gas stations, but instead providing aid through fleet cards and cash assistance to those in need.
“So far, in the early stages, there has been some commotion here and there, and it became an issue during a few by-elections. However, now we see that the implementation is proceeding smoothly,” he said.
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