The former prime minister warned that cutting the subsidy for RON95 petrol for those in the T15 group could see some businesses raise their prices.

“Those under the T15 category who are business owners may end up passing their additional costs to consumers. So, this won’t just affect the T15 group but also the B40 and M40 groups,” he said when debating the 2025 budget in the Dewan Rakyat.

“With the inflation rate projected to increase to between 2% and 3.5% next year, the government needs to reconsider its subsidy rationalisation policy,” he said when debating the Supply Bill 2025 in the Dewan Rakyat today.

The Perikatan Nasional chairman also urged the government not to withdraw the subsidised boarding school fees for wealthy families, especially if it goes ahead with imposing higher RON95 petrol prices on them.

“They are already going to pay more for petrol next year, and now they’ll have to pay more for their children’s education. It’s better if we don’t touch on matters related to their children’s education,” he said.

He also expressed concern about the proposed minimum wage hike to RM1,700 in February, suggesting that Putrajaya bring back wage subsidies for small businesses.

He said wage subsidies would alleviate the pressure on businesses to meet the higher wages, adding that Bumiputera-owned firms will be among those badly affected by the minimum wage hike.

The wage subsidy programme was introduced by Muhyiddin’s government at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdowns to curb massive retrenchments and keep companies afloat.