By: DATO’ SRI MOHD NAJIB BIN TUN HAJI ABDUL RAZAK
PERDANA MENTERI MALAYSIA
Venue: PUTRAJAYA
Date: 15/07/2010
Title: PENYELARASAN HARGA BAHAN API DAN GULA

1. Sejak mengambil alih teraju kepimpinan negara pada tahun lepas, kerajaan di bawah pimpinan saya telah memberi tumpuan kepada usaha-usaha untuk melonjakkan pertumbuhan ekonomi ke tahap yang lebih tinggi.

2. Kita telah membuka sektor-sektor penting dalam ekonomi untuk pelabur asing, menyediakan persekitaran pelaburan yang lebih kondusif, mengurangkan perbelanjaan kerajaan sebanyak 24 bilion, mengurangkan pembaziran dan menangani ketidakcekapan. Hasilnya, kita dapat melihat kebangkitan ekonomi dengan pertumbuhan sebanyak 10.1% dalam suku pertama 2010, pencapaian terbaik kita dalam dekad ini.

3. Ketika mengumumkan Rancangan Malaysia Ke-10, saya telah mengatakan bahawa matlamat negara bukanlah semata-mata untuk mengeluarkan kita dari krisis ekonomi. Cita-cita kita untuk negara dan masyarakat adalah lebih tinggi dari itu. Kita ingin menjadi negara berpendapatan tinggi dan maju, berdaya tahan dan berdaya saing untuk meningkatkan kesejahteraan kerana rakyat.

4. Model Baru Ekonomi (MBE) memperuntukkan cadangan untuk melabur dan mengembangkan sektor strategik yang penting, mengemas kini infrastruktur dan mewujudkan peluang pelaburan bagi sektor swasta yang bertujuan meningkatkan Pendapatan Negara Kasar. Namun begitu, pertumbuhan sahaja tidak akan membantu kita mencapai matlamat MBE. Kerajaan telah menyatakan bahawa kita mesti mengkaji semula pemberian subsidi bagi mengelak herotan dalam dagangan. Ia bagi memastikan subsidi diberikan kepada golongan yang layak dan membolehkan lebih banyak hasil negara digunakan untuk pelaburan yang akan memberikan faedah jangka panjang bagi keseluruhan rakyat.

5. Selaras dengan itu, Kabinet telah mengambil keputusan bahawa berkuat kuasa pada 16 Julai 2010, harga bagi bahan api, terutamanya petrol, diesel dan Petroleum Gas Cecair (LPG), dan juga gula, akan diselaraskan semula sebagai sebahagian dari Program Rasionalisasi Subsidi. [tm1] Penyelarasan semula harga barang ini akan membolehkan kerajaan mengurangkan perbelanjaannya melebihi RM750 juta untuk tahun ini.

6. Keputusan untuk menyelaraskan harga minyak dan gula ini khususnya diasaskan daripada tiga perkara penting:

a. Pertama, kesemua subsidi ini tidak menepati sasaran – ia memberi faedah juga kepada pihak yang tidak layak, iaitu warga asing dan rakyat yang berpendapatan tinggi yakni mereka yang mampu untuk membayar petrol tanpa subsidi. Fokus kita sepatutnya ialah bagi membantu golongan yang berpendapatan rendah dan sederhana bukan mereka yang memandu kereta import yang mewah. Subsidi gula yang berlebihan pula memberi faedah kepada industri-industri dan bukannya keluarga. Hampir dua kali ganda subsidi gula ini digunakan oleh sektor perniagaan berbanding isi rumah.

b. Kedua, barangan yang bersubsidi tinggi selalunya membawa kepada aktiviti penyeludupan kerana pemberian subsidi telah menjadikan barangan ini paling murah di rantau ini. Pada tahun 2009 sahaja, ramai penyeludup telah ditangkap ketika cuba membawa keluar lebih 200 tan metrik gula. Sebenarnya, jumlah yang tidak dapat ditangkap kerana penyeludupan ini adalah lebih besar. Diesel terus diseludup dan dijual secara haram di negara jiran. Pihak berkuasa telah meningkatkan pengawalan untuk menghalang penyeludupan, tetapi selagi adanya perbezaan harga yang besar, penyeludup akan terus dengan kegiatan haram ini.

c. Ketiga, kita perlu menukar cara kita menggunakan bahan bakar dan gula. Penggunaan bahan bakar yang berlebihan akan mengurangkan sumber negara dengan cepat dan tidak menyumbang kepada usaha kita melindungi alam sekitar. Dengan 40 peratus rakyat Malaysia yang berlebihan berat badan atau obes – dan peningkatan jumlah penghidap diabetes – kita perlu menangani apa yang dilihat sebagai satu isu kesihatan. Mengurangkan penggunaan gula di kalangan anak-anak khususnya, adalah langkah yang tepat.

7. Ini adalah sebahagian dari sebab kenapa kerajaan memilih untuk menyelaraskan semula harga gula dan bahan bakar. Sebaliknya, subsidi bagi bidang pelajaran dan kesihatan akan terus dipertahankan. Ini adalah bidang perkara yang penting bagi negara di mana kerajaan seharusnya melabur, menyediakan bantuan untuk mengembangkan kemahiran dan membina tenaga kerja untuk masa depan.

8. Keputusan untuk menyemak semula pemberian subsidi ini dibuat bersama rakyat melalui aktiviti yang dijalankan di bawah Program Rasionalisasi Subsidi. Kerajaan telah mengadakan proses perundingan dengan rakyat sebelum membuat keputusan ini. Tidak lagi hanya dengan pembuat dasar di Putrajaya, tetapi beribu-ribu rakyat Malaysia melalui Hari Terbuka Makmal Rasionalisasi Subsidi, undian on-line, undian pesanan ringkas dan borang maklum balas menyatakan sokongan bagi menyemak semula pemberian subsidi secara berperingkat.

9. Berdasarkan proses ini, kerajaan memutuskan harga petrol RON 95 dan diesel akan diselaraskan sebanyak 5 sen seliter bagi semua sektor. LPG akan diselaraskan sebanyak 10 sen sekilogram dan petrol RON 97 akan diapung secara terkawal. Bagi gula pula, harga akan diselaraskan sebanyak 25 sen sekilogram.

10. Walaupun harga barang ini diselaraskan, kerajaan masih lagi membelanjakan lebih kurang RM7.82 bilion setahun untuk subsidi bahan bakar dan gula. Harga bahan bakar dan gula di negara ini masih lagi yang paling rendah di rantau ini walaupun adanya penyelarasan harga ini.

11. Selain itu, penyelarasan harga barang ini akan menyumbang kepada usaha kita untuk mengukuhkan urusan kewangan kerajaan iaitu mengurangkan defisit kewangan negara. Ia membolehkan kita menyediakan perbelanjaan yang lebih kepada sektor yang lebih penting seperti pendidikan dan kesihatan. Ini termasuklah pengumuman kerajaan baru-baru ini bahawa semua pelajar yang mendapat 9A+ dan pelajar miskin yang layak mendapat biasiswa dan meningkatkan perbelanjaan untuk menyediakan kemudahan kesihatan seperti Klinik 1Malaysia, termasuk klinik bergerak 1Malaysia. Selain itu, kerajaan akan meneruskan Projek Penyeragaman Harga Barang Perlu di Sabah dan Sarawak bagi mengurangkan beban rakyat luar bandar.

12. Sebenarnya, penyelarasan harga bahan api dan gula ini adalah yang paling minima berbanding dengan cadangan yang telah dikemukakan oleh Makmal Rasionalisasi Subsidi kerana kerajaan mahu mengimbangi di antara kepentingan rakyat dan keperluan menguruskan defisit negara.

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1. To help Malaysia maintain the strong growth it has achieved, the Government has implemented difficult but long-needed economic reforms that will help Malaysia become a developed and high-income nation. In this regard, the Government has begun a planned and fair reform of a subsidy regime that for too long has been ineffective in helping those who need it most and, over time, has become a barrier to Malaysia’s progress.
2. The Government has made bold economic decisions over the past two years. Two stimulus packages were introduced, promoting growth, even as the global financial crisis spread.

Important sectors of our economy further liberalised were opened to new investment. The Government cut spending by RM24 billion, by reducing waste and inefficiency. As a result, the country’s economy has been reinvigorated, with 10.1 per cent growth in the first quarter of 2010, Malaysia’s best performance in a decade. Although there is still instability in the global economy, Malaysia is well positioned for the future – not by chance, but by the choices we have made together.

3. As set out by the Prime Minister when he announced the 10th Malaysia Plan, Malaysia’s national goals cannot be achieved by simply managing through a crisis. Malaysia’s ambition is to be a high-income nation, with opportunity for all.

4. In the New Economic Model, the Prime Minister set out plans for further investment in key strategic sectors, upgrading our infrastructure, creating additional private sector investment opportunities and realizing higher levels of GDP growth. However, growth alone will not allow us to meet our goals. As the Government has consistently said over recent months, we must also implement subsidy reforms that will remove distortions in the marketplace and enable us
to better target our resources on those most in need, and on investments that will provide lasting benefits for Malaysians.

5. With these priorities in mind, the Cabinet has decided that, effective 16 July 2010, subsidies for fuel, specifically petrol, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), as well as sugar, will be reduced as the first step of a gradual subsidy rationalisation programme. Subsidies for RON 95 and diesel will be reduced by 5 sen per liter. LPG will be reduced by 10 sen per kilogram. RON 97 will no longer be subsidised. It will be subjected to a managed float, where
the price will be determined by the automatic pricing mechanism. For sugar, the upward price adjustment will be 25 sen per kilogram. The details of these changes are now available on the PMO and PEMANDU websites, at: http://www.pmo.gov.my and http://www.pemandu.gov.my

6. These minimal changes will help Malaysia achieve a position of fiscal responsibility and put us on a path toward reducing our deficit. To meet these objectives, we have chosen to make adjustments to our subsidies. Even after these changes, the Government will still spend an estimated RM 7.82 billion on fuel and sugar subsidies in 2010. The prices of fuel and sugar in Malaysia will still be among the lowest in the region.

7. This subsidy rationalisation will, according to estimates, allow Malaysia to reduce Government expenditure by more than RM 750 million in 2010.

8. The decision to reduce subsidies for fuel and sugar is based on the fact that reducing fuel subsidies will have the greatest impact on government spending and reducing sugar subsidies will allow us to promote healthier lifestyles. The decision is also grounded on three main concerns:

a. First, these subsidies also benefit foreigners and wealthier Malaysians, who can well afford to pay unsubsidised prices. Our focus should be on helping the family sharing a motorcycle or Kancil to get to work and school, but instead our spending on subsidies has provided the same benefits to those driving imported luxury cars. The sugar subsidy disproportionately benefits industries, not families. Businesses have been using almost twice as much subsidised sugar as Malaysian households.

b. Second, highly subsidised prices often lead to illegal smuggling of these goods. Because subsidies make these products the cheapest in the region, in 2009 alone smugglers were caught heading out of Malaysia with more than 200 metric tonnes of sugar to be sold across borders. Also, subsidised diesel continues to go to the black market or across our borders, instead of to those we meant to assist. Law enforcement have been doing their best to prevent smuggling, with 109 sugar related arrests last year. This is the tip of the iceberg. As long as there are big price differences, smuggling will continue. And:

c. Third, unless we reduce our consumption of fuel and sugar, we face potentially serious consequences as a nation. We are quickly depleting our domestic fuel resources. It is vital that we rationalise our fuel use – as well as develop new energy technologies – as a matter of economic, energy and national security. In this regard, we have implemented a number of policies to protect the environment. We must also reduce our sugar consumption. 40 per cent of Malaysians are now either overweight or obese. Incidents of diabetes are rising quickly. Statistics show that the percentage of Malaysians with diabetes now exceeds that in the United States. We must, as a matter of urgency, take every step available to tackle what is clearly a public health issue for our nation. Reducing sugar consumption, among our children in particular, is a step in the right direction.

9. These are among the reasons why the Government has chosen to focus on sugar and fuel subsidies. Subsidies for education and health care will continue. These are areas of importance for our economy and our society where the Government should be investing. These include, providing support to develop skills, training the knowledge based workforce of the future and improving the well-being of the nation.

10. The Government arrived at this decision following robust consultations with the people. Thousands of Malaysians participated in the policy labs, Open Day and an unprecedented public feedback process. As with subsidy reform, the budget, the Government Transformation Program and now the National Key Economic Areas, the Government has made a determined effort to engage the public, listen and learn, and then act in the best interest of the nation.

11. These measures are designed to have a minimal impact on individual families, but long-term benefits for the nation. The reduction in expenditure from these reforms will allow us to better use resources for families, communities and business growth. Measures such as the 1Malaysia clinics, the 1Malaysia mobile clinics, as well as the scholarships for all 9A+ and
deserving students, specifically those who have done well, but come from lower income families, are made possible by such reforms. Similarly, by reducing expenditure on subsidies we will be able to continue strengthening such initiatives as the price standardisation project, which seeks to harmonise prices of essential goods between urban and rural areas in Sabah and Sarawak.

12. The Government has made a difficult, but bold decision. By choosing to implement these modest subsidy reforms, we have taken a crucial step in the right direction towards meeting our commitment to reduce the fiscal deficit, without overburdening the Malaysian people. These measures are a demonstration of our fiscal responsibility. They will enhance Malaysia’s financial stability, while also protecting the Rakyat.

PEJABAT PERDANA MENTERI, PUTRAJAYA
PRIME MINISTER’S DEPARTMENT, PUTRAJAYA
15/07/2010

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