SHAH ALAM, Oct 23 — More than RM1.85 billion has been spent under the Budi Madani RON95 (BUDI95) subsidy programme since its launch last month, benefiting over 12.4 million Malaysians, said Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
"As of October 21, more than 12.4 million Malaysians have received subsidised RON95 petrol through BUDI95, involving total sales worth RM1.85 billion or over 930 million litres in fuel consumption," he said in a written parliamentary reply dated yesterday.
The BUDI 95 initiative, which was rolled out in phases from September 27, allows 16.5 million eligible citizens to purchase RON95 petrol at RM1.99 per litre.
Anwar, who is prime minister, said the Budi Madani Diesel programme that was launched in June last year, meanwhile, has contributed around RM5 billion in annual savings.
This has helped in easing fiscal pressure and allowing resources to be redirected towards social welfare and development projects.
The savings have been channelled into enhanced cash assistance programmes such as Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) and Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (Sara), with allocations increased to RM13 billion under Budget 2025 from RM10 billion last year, and expected to rise to RM15 billion under the Sara Appreciation initiative.
Under Budi Madani Diesel, eligible private diesel vehicle owners, farmers, and smallholders receive RM200 monthly, or RM2,400 annually.
As of September 30, more than 140,000 Budi Individu recipients and 180,000 Budi Agri-Komoditi recipients have been approved, with total payments amounting to RM780 million.
Anwar added that the diesel subsidy programme has helped stabilise logistics costs, with 121,618 companies operating 355,074 vehicles approved for fleet card access to purchase diesel at RM2.15 per litre.
