Najib: We provide billions of ringgit in subsidy each year

PETALING JAYA: The Barisan Nasional government allocates tens of billions of ringgit each year for various forms of subsidies, and any claims otherwise are mere lies, according to Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak (pix).
The Prime Minister said he was aware of the grouses of the rakyat seeking the government to provide subsidies to reduce the supposed high cost of living in the country.
"However, it is worth noting that the government spends a huge amount of money on subsidies on various sectors.
"As such, please do not listen to accusations that the government does not provide any form of subsidies for the rakyat because all those are not true at all," he said in a blog post today.
Najib, who is also finance minister, said for one, the government has allocated RM3.9 billion under the recently announced Budget 2018 for subsidies on transportation and goods such as cooking gas and oil, and flour.
He said subsidies were also being given to the usage of electricity and tolls to avoid their rates being increased, while a huge amount is also allocated for the health sector annually.
"For 2018, RM26.5 billion is allocated for healthcare despite the sector only collecting RM600 million. The rest are fully borne by the government.
"Additionally, since 2012, fees for public schools have been fully exempted, while the government also funds about 90% of public universities' fees," he said.
Najib pointed out that the fee for medical programmes would traditionally cost RM289,885, but that students only needed to pay RM9,000 after subsidy.
For the housing sector, Najib said subsidy in the form of deposit aid was given through the MyDeposit Scheme, while affordable housing was also available through Public Housing Programme (PPR) and Felda Second Generation Homes, among others.