KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Sunday (Aug 30) introduced measures to address rising living costs and support businesses, including restoring higher quotas for subsidised petrol and diesel purchases, as well as more funding for schools and small traders.
The measures are expected to take effect on Sep 1, Anwar said in a televised address.
“The economic growth of the country must be returned to the people,” he said.
Anwar has been under pressure to tackle higher living costs, even as Malaysia’s economy has outperformed most of its regional peers. The country’s gross domestic product grew 6 per cent in the second quarter this year, surpassing official projections.
Anwar said the government would restore a quota for Malaysian citizens to buy the popular RON95 transport fuel to 300L per month, after reducing it to 200L a month earlier this year amid a surge in global crude oil prices due to the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The quota for diesel purchases for certain categories of users would be similarly raised to 400L per month, he said.
Anwar said a government artificial intelligence program would be opened to Malaysians aged between 18 and 30 years that would include free access to several key applications including Google’s Gemini Enterprise and Wonderclip and MuleRun by China’s Alibaba Cloud.
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