A man refuels his vehicle at a Shell petrol station in Kuala Lumpur November 2, 2018. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

PUTRAJAYA, Nov 22 — The Finance Ministry has issued a request for proposal for the development of the targeted fuel subsidy system proposed in Budget 2019.

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said today the ministry issued the RFP last Monday.

“The tender requires the interested parties to propose, study, design, develop, supply, install, test, commission and operate the software and application of the targeted fuel subsidy system for RON95 petrol,” he said during the Ministers’ Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat.

He was replying to a question from Nor Azrina Surip (PH-Merbok) on the progress of the implementation of the subsidy system.

Saifuddin Nasution said the selection of the supplier to develop the system will be implemented competitively to ensure the efficiency of the system.

It is proposed in Budget 2019 that a targeted fuel subsidy system will be implemented for owners of cars of 1,500cc and below and owners of motorcycles of 125cc or less.

Each car and motorcycle owner will enjoy up to 100 litres and 40 litres of RON95 petrol per month, respectively, with a subsidy of at least 30 sen per litre, depending on the market price of petrol.

As many as four million car owners and 2.6 million motorcycle owners will benefit from this subsidy. People who own more than one car will not receive this benefit.

Saifuddin Nasution is optimistic that the targeted fuel subsidy system can be implemented in stages from the second quarter of next year.

He said that soon after the announcement of the subsidy in Budget 2019, the ministry held meetings with many quarters including Bank Negara, petrol station operator companies and consumers associations to identify what is required in the scheme.

RON97 and RON95 petrol consumption in the country total 1.2 billion litres per month, he said, adding that RON95 petrol consumption takes up 90 per cent of the 1.2 billion litres. — Bernama