Lowering fuel prices in Malaysia would only make national debt increase with subsidy spending - Anwar
Lowering fuel prices in Malaysia would only make national debt increase with subsidy spending - Anwar Paul Tan
Source: Paul Tan · July 21, 2026 at 2:24 PM · AI-assisted report
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KUALA LUMPUR, 21 JULY 2026 —
Malaysian prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has defended fuel prices in Malaysia amid calls for lower fuel prices, and said that the government already spends RM40 billion annually on fuel subsidies, reported The Star . The administration could not afford to increase the country’s debt, which should not continue to accumulate, the prime minister said.
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Earlier this month, Anwar said that the government’s spending on petrol and diesel fuel subsidies will approach RM40 billion this year . “As for fuel prices, I do not know why I keep seeing people on social media saying that I have not lowered fuel prices,” the Malaysian prime minister said.
“They say fuel prices should be reduced to RM1.50 per litre, but I say that when we first proposed RM1.50, petrol in Saudi Arabia cost about 50 sen per litre. Today, petrol in Saudi Arabia costs around RM2.40 to RM2.50 per litre. Saudi Arabia is the largest petroleum producer in the world and has excess production capacity, yet petrol there costs RM2.40 per litre,” Anwar said.
Malaysia imports around 50% of its petroleum needs, yet continues to sell RON 95 petrol at RM1.99 per litre through government subsidies, the prime minister continued, adding that Malaysia’s economy remained in a relatively stronger position than many of its neighbours. Add paultan.org as a preferred source on Google Search Add Follow paultan.org on Google News Follow --> Sell your car, get paid in 24 hours (AI-assisted rewrite, based on the original source)