KUALA LUMPUR: The Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry will launch a large-scale movement involving the public in combating the misappropriation of subsidised controlled goods in Sabah and Sarawak with priority being given to diesel and the RON95 fuel.
Its minister Datuk Armizan Ali said this movement is being implemented following the federal government's decision to gradually implement targeted diesel subsidies starting with states in Peninsular Malaysia.
He added that this is also to ensure that the targeted groups can enjoy subsidies.
"At the ministry's level, a mass movement involving the public is being planned to assist enforcement in combating subsidy leakage through monitoring and information dissemination.
"The misappropriation and smuggling of subsidised controlled goods are not only illegal but also a denial of the people's subsidy rights.
"Engaging in illegal trading of subsidy assistance is economic sabotage against the country and the government's agenda in providing social assistance to those in need," he said in a statement today.
The ministry, he said, also urged all parties, including the public, to continue to be the government's eyes and ears in reporting any form of misappropriation and smuggling.
"We want to ensure that these activities, which harm the country and the people, can be eradicated," he said.
He added that the public with any information on the misappropriation and smuggling of subsidised controlled goods should report complete and accurate complaints to the ministry.
Armizan added that exempting Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan from the targeted diesel subsidy would cost the government an estimated RM3.6 million for this year.
He said the key factor behind the federal government's decision to continue the diesel subsidy in Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan was the high dependency of its consumers on diesel-powered vehicles.
It is also due to the considerations of the potential ripple effects where the prices of goods and services are higher compared with those in West Malaysia, as well as the level of readiness and access to information among diesel users to implement subsidy profiling, he said.
"The government has never denied that leakage issues, including the misappropriation and smuggling of diesel fuel, also occur in Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan.
"Therefore, the government has directed all relevant enforcement agencies, including the ministry, the Customs Department, the police, the Road Transport Department, and the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency to strengthen strategies and approaches to enhance the effectiveness of enforcement mechanisms," he said.