00:00Economists have urged the government to brace for a medium-term restructuring of fuel subsidies if global oil prices surge
00:07following the attacks by the U.S. and Israel on Iran.
00:11Carmelo Ferlito, CEO of the Market Education Center, said the government's efforts to maintain the price of Ron95 petrol at
00:19RM1.99 per liter amid volatile global oil prices meant the cost difference must be absorbed by public finances.
00:27He warned that fiscal pressure from geopolitical uncertainty and large subsidies could limit the government's ability to maintain social safety
00:36nets, including sumbangan tunai rahmah and sumbangan asas rahmah, if the subsidy approach remains fully universal.
00:44To mitigate this, Ferlito recommended restructuring subsidies in the medium term to manage fiscal risk, including replacing broad-based subsidies
00:52with more targeted measures.
00:54Economist Jeffrey Williams predicted that the Gulf conflict would be short-term and that Brent crude prices would stabilize at
01:02around US$80 to US$90 per barrel.
01:06He suggested introducing tiered pricing based on monthly consumption to ensure that 98% of petrol buyers still benefit from
01:14subsidies without overburdening the government.
01:17I'm Anujo, FMT.
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