MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong has called for a revision of the government’s Budi Madani diesel subsidy scheme, describing the current criteria for farmers and smallholders to be eligible for the scheme “too tight”.
In a Facebook post, the Ayer Hitam MP said the current requirement that all applicants must be registered companies and annual sales revenues must be in the range of RM50,000 to RM300,000 will mean that the vast majority of farmers and small holders will not be eligible.
“The RM200 per month subsidy payments is also too small for a small-holder and farmer as their operations not only use diesel for transportation but for various machines for irrigation, generators and pumps,” he stressed.
“Should the diesel subsidy rationalisation take place, smallholders and farmers’ operation cost will increase and this will lead to either increased food prices or reduced production.”
Wee said given that food security and food prices are issues of the utmost public importance, it is a “big mistake” to put the agriculture sector under the Budi Madani scheme.
“As with the transportation sector, the agriculture sector should also be made eligible for the Subsidised Diesel Control System 2.0 (SKDS) instead of being subjected to the Budi Madani diesel subsidy scheme,” Wee reckoned.
“The criteria for farmers and small-holders to be approved under the SKDS scheme must also be made more lenient.”
Alternatively, Wee noted that should the government insist on placing the agriculture sector under the Budi Madani scheme, the amount of monthly subsidies should be increased to a more reasonable amount.
“Meanwhile, the criteria to qualify must also include sole proprietors while the qualifying annual sales revenue should be changed from the current RM50,000 to RM300,000 to a more reasonable figure of RM0 to RM1.5 mil,” he added.
The Budi Madani scheme is a targeted diesel subsidy to eligible groups, including individual assistance (Budi Individu), farmers and small-scale growers (Budi Agri-Komiditi), as well as companies and transport vehicles (My Subsidi Diesel)
Under the scheme, more than 30,000 farmers and small-scale commodity growers have been approved to receive the RM200 cash subsidy, which will be disbursed through their bank accounts.
According to its website, the Budi Agri-Komoditi scheme is open to individuals or organisations that run small farms, actively produce food crops and goods, and generate annual agricultural product sales values from RM50,000 to RM300,000. – June 7, 2024
Main pic credit: Malay Mail
