The ministry said the savings has reduced pressure on the country’s fiscal position and enabled funds to be redirected for more productive purposes, including strengthening the people’s social safety net.

It also said 12.4 million citizens out of 16.5 million eligible individuals have benefitted from the BUDI95 initiative, involving sales of over RM1.85 billion or consumption exceeding 930 million litres as of Oct 21.

“Among the government’s measures was its improvement of cash aid measures such as Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) and Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) with the increased RM13 billion allocation under Budget 2025, compared with RM10 billion the previous year, and further to RM15 billion through the SARA Appreciation initiative.

“The savings are also used to fund development projects that can increase the country’s productive capacity,” it said in a written reply on the Parliament website today.

The ministry also said allocations for more than 140,000 BUDI Individu recipients and 180,000 BUDI Agri-Komoditi recipients have been approved, with total payouts of RM430 million and RM350 million, respectively.

It was responding to Abdul Khalib Abdullah (PN-Rompin) who asked about the effectiveness of the targeted petrol and diesel subsidies in reducing leakages and easing the country’s fiscal burden.