KUALA LUMPUR: The government should provide fleet cards for registered NGOs amidst the absence of diesel subsidy, says Malaysian Relief Agency (MRA).
MRA requested the government to provide fleet cards to NGOs according to the established governance.
Dr. Shahrizal Azwan Samsudin Secretary-General of MRA said, the government can require registered NGOs to partner with Budi Madani as a subsidy recipient.
"The absence of diesel subsidies allocated for local NGOs will further hinder their activities aimed at assisting the needy population," he said.
"NGO leaders have voiced their concerns that the lack of diesel subsidy for local NGOs will increase management costs.
" It's because they use four-wheel vehicles and vans to aid goods to rural and village areas," said Shahrizal.
He said, MRA takes note of the action to rationalise subsidies to contain national financial losses, resulting in savings of up to RM 4 billion annually.
"But, these savings need to be returned to the people.
One way for it is through assistance to marginalised communities, especially assistance through local NGOs to target groups," he added.
"I believe the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Bin Ibrahim, as a former leader of local NGOs in Malaysia, can see and consider this matter from their perspective.
He said although NGOs are not the majority diesel users, targeted subsidy assistance to humanitarian NGOs will greatly benefit aid recipient communities such as the poor, elderly, orphans, indigenous people, and the disabled.
Earlier, Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan announced that the retail price of diesel at all pumps in Peninsular Malaysia would be set at RM3.35 per litre, set at the market price based on the Automatic Pricing Mechanism formula, effective June 10.
He said the targeted diesel pricing and subsidy implementation would save the country RM4 billion annually, while strengthening its financial position in the long term.