KUALA LUMPUR: An opposition member of parliament has called for a pilot project to test the subsidy targeting initiative based on the proposed classification of the top 15 per cent income group, or T15.
Bachok MP Syahir Che Sulaiman, in a Berita Harian report, said that a pilot project is crucial to help the government gauge the effectiveness of the T15 framework and avoid potential issues later on.
In the context of subsidy targeting, he said that existing data should be thoroughly analysed to ensure its implementation aligns with reality.
"(When implementing) subsidy targeting, analyse the data from DOSM (Department of Statistics Malaysia) + LHDN (Inland Revenue Board), instead of relying solely on data from Padu (Central Database Hub) x Budi Madani.
"Launch a pilot project to test its effectiveness, avoid disruption later on," he said in a post on his X account.
Earlier, Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said that individuals classified as high-income or known as T15 will be determined based on their household net disposable income and their location of residence.
He said determining net disposable income cannot be done uniformly without considering the Basic Life Expenses according to each locality.
He added that around 10 million households nationwide are currently under evaluation using various platforms such as the Padu system.
Additionally, Syahir urged the government to engage with various stakeholders, including workers, employers, and business owners, to ensure the data collected accurately reflects the realities faced by the people and businesses.
"Preferably, all planning and policy formulation should be based on accurate data, comprehensive stakeholder engagement, reality checks on the ground, and a high level of empathy from the government," he said.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the Finance Minister, said that the government has yet to finalise the income threshold for classifying the T15 group that will be exempt from several government subsidies next year.
The Tambun MP added that the government is open to considering changing the classification of the group to be excluded from subsidies from T15 to T10, which represents the top 10 percent of high-income earners.
When presenting Budget 2025 on 18 October, the Prime Minister said that several subsidies would be reduced for the T15 group, a move that has garnered attention from various parties urging the government to re-evaluate the household income classification to avoid excluding fuel and other subsidies.
Anwar also criticised those who defend subsidies for the T15 group, despite their incomes ranging from RM100,000 to RM1 million.