PETALING JAYA: The government has been urged to rein in inflation once it removes the current price cap of RON95 petrol at RM 2.08, when the subsidy for Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) recipients comes into effect.
Gerakan National President, Datuk Dr Dominic Lau Hoe Chai said the government has to ensure that prices of goods don’t escalate after the removal of the cap.
“While Gerakan understands the need for the country to cut down on costly subsidies which could be better put to develop the nation. The government must not forget that Malaysians are still facing the rising cost of living,” Lau said in a statement today.
He added that back in December 2014 following the introduction of the managed float system by the previous government, the inflation rate in March 2015 shot up almost 1% due to higher transport cost.
At the same time, food and non-alcoholic beverages also saw an increase of 2.5% as well as housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels by 2.1%, he pointed out.
“It is essential that the subsequent effect of the introduction of the float system does not bring a hard impact on average Malaysians,” Lau said.
He also took a dig at Pakatan Harapan (PH) for making another U-turn regarding policy decisions.
“By returning to the float system, this demonstrates the hypocrisy of PH lawmakers when previously back in December 2014 prior to the introduction of the float system by the previous government, prominent leaders such as Rafizi Ramli rejected the move,” he said.
“This provides a vindication that steps undertaken by the previous government are indeed beneficial to the nation in the long term.”
