Anwar meets Malaysia’s subsidy problem head-on

MALAYSIAN Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has been uncharacteristically feisty in recent weeks when defending his government’s decision to remove a subsidy on diesel that saw its price rise by more than 50 per cent at the pump. He also warned that petrol subsidies are next on his list.

Anwar, who is also the finance minister, said that previous governments too had wanted to reduce the number of subsidised goods and services but lacked the nerve to act.

Of course, Anwar should be commended for recognising that the country does have a problem with subsidies and other outlays that drain the Treasury of funds that might have been better used to enhance national development. Over the years, previous occupants of Putrajaya kept adding to taxpayer-funded support schemes for goods deemed essential, including chicken, eggs, rice and some types of cooking oil. Household electricity supply and petrol are also subsidised.