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KUANTAN: The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs has two months to complete the Fuel Subsidy Programme (PSP) mechanism for the middle-income group (M40), said its Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (pix).
He said the matter is urgent as the announcement had been made by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng in his Budget 2020 presentation at Dewan Rakyat last Friday, while its implementation would begin in January.
“We need to sit down with the Finance Ministry (MOF) to discuss several other requirements, but I am optimistic with our experience in getting the mechanism off the ground to help the B40 group.
“We are also cross-checking with the Road Transport Department (RTD), so we know the number of eligible vehicles for the subsidy. What is important is for those who qualify to register,“ he said.
Saifuddin was speaking to reporters after attending a ‘Discourse with the Minister’ and the launch of the University of Malaysia Pahang (UMP) Food Bank Programme at the Gambang campus here today, which was also attended by UMP deputy vice-chancellor (Student Affairs and Alumni) Prof Datuk Dr Yuserrie Zainuddin.
Saifuddin also confirmed that there was congestion in the psp.kpdnhep.gov.my portal since yesterday, after 2.9 million Cost of Living Aid (BSH) recipients were able to start checking their PSP eligibility, which propelled the site as the top portal at the moment.
“We acknowledge that (portal) is slow because we are overflooded with applications, compared to the server’s capacity. I wish to reiterate that the checking only involves BSH recipients.
“If they have never received BSH or the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) before, but are eligible for PSP, they can appeal and we will help to register them with MOF as we are using the ministry’s data,“ he said.
Saifuddin said those who did not have access to the internet to check could do so through nine KPDNHEP telephone lines including check-in counters.
Commenting on the Food Bank programme, Saifuddin said 20 public universities in the country would be implementing the programme by the end of this year, with UMP as the 18th university involved in using the UMP Pantry Campus brand.
He said the two other universities to implement Food Bank Programme in the near future are Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) in Shah Alam, Selangor and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) before expanding to 123 polytechnics, Teachers’ Training Institutes (IPG) and private higher education institutions next year.
“So far, 6,500 university students have benefited from the programme and we are optimistic of ensuring their implementation will not be disrupted as they have received an RM25 million allocation through the Budget 2020 besides cash assistance from interested parties,“ he said.
Saifuddin said UMP has secured 10 donors comprising private companies and supermarkets. — Bernama
