Malaysia plans record $18b subsidy
General view of a deserted street during a lockdown due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, May 11, 2021. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE
Malaysia is expected to spend 77.3 billion ringgit ($17.6 billion) in subsidies and cash aid this year, the largest amount in history, to help temper the effects of rising prices, its finance minister said on Saturday.
Prices of goods have jumped in Malaysia in recent months due to supply chain disruptions, labour shortages and the impact of war in Ukraine.
Food inflation rose 5.2% from a year earlier in May, the highest since November 2011, government data showed this week.
Malaysia is projected to spend 51 billion ringgit on consumer subsidies including for fuel, electricity, and food, assuming that commodity market prices remain at current levels, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said in a statement.
The government will also distribute 11.7 billion ringgit in cash aid, and 14.6 billion ringgit in other subsidies, he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 26th, 2022.
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