Lim said the subsidy would be dedicated to the poor and hardcore poor registered with the e-Kasih programme. ― Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 ― The government will increase household electricity bill subsidy from RM20 and below to RM40 and below, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.

However, he said in line with the government's intention to implement targeted subsidies, the channeling of the subsidy would be dedicated to the poor and hardcore poor registered with the e-Kasih programme.

“It will benefit 185,000 accounts. An allocation of RM80 million is being set aside for this purpose,” he said when tabling Budget 2019 in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Lim said the government would also provide RON95 petrol subsidy of 30 sen per litre to those who own a car with engine capacity of 1,500cc and below, as well as a motorcycle with engine capacity of 125cc and below.

He said the subsidy, however, was limited to 100 litres per month for car and 40 litres for motorcycle.

Lim said the new mechanism was expected to take effect from the second quarter of next year with an allocation of RM2 billion.

He said the subsidy mechanism was expected to benefit four million car owners and 2.6 million motorcycle owners.

To enhance the efficiency of resource utilisation as well as to curb leakage due to differences in petrol prices and cross-border smuggling, Lim said the government would refloat the price of RON95 petrol in the market based on the automatic price mechanism (APM). ― Bernama