RON 95 Subsidy Changes Is Coming – Is Your Household in the T15?

【PCauto】In the 2025 budget, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Datuk Seri Anwar announced that the government plans to adjust the subsidy mechanism for RON 95 petrol in June this year.

The main purpose of this adjustment is to restrict foreigners and high-income groups from enjoying subsidies, ensuring that subsidies can precisely cover the people in real need. After the adjustment, foreigners and 15% of the wealthiest population (T15 high-income group) will no longer be able to enjoy the RON 95 petrol subsidy policy, while the remaining 85% of the population will not be affected and can still buy RON 95 petrol at subsidized prices.

The government is also exploring specific ways to implement this adjustment policy. Someone said that a dual-price system may be adopted to replace the existing subsidy mechanism. In other words, the price of RON 95 petrol may be raised to the market price, and then the government will provide subsidies to eligible families every month. At the same time, people may need to show their ID when purchasing petrol to prove their eligibility.

Someone suggested that ID cards, electronic wallets, or transfer cards should be used as means of identity verification and payment, to ensure that subsidies can be accurately delivered to eligible people.

Moreover, relevant departments still need to further clarify some details. For example, the definition of the high-income group (T15) is not yet clearly announced by the government. Although many people guess that the monthly income of a household of 12,000 to 13,000 ringgit may be the dividing line, Anwar has not confirmed it. Minister of Economy, Rafizi, also mentioned that the definition of a high-income group is not only based on household income, but also takes into account other various factors.

For the government, the adjustment of this subsidy policy is expected to save about 8 billion ringgits in fiscal expenditure each year, which will significantly alleviate the government's financial pressure and optimize the allocation of fiscal resources.

As for consumers, if you are not in the T15 high-income group, then you basically have nothing to worry, you can still purchase RON 95 petrol according to the familiar subsidy price. But if you are in the T15 group, your future cost of buying petrol may increase.