DOHA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim reiterated the need to cut wasteful spending, including reducing excess subsidies to trim government debt levels, while stopping short of committing a timeline to do away with fuel concessions.
“I concede that things need to be done but it needs to be done judiciously,” he told Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin at the Qatar Economic Forum.
“How do we then proceed to undertake this reform without punishing the poor – that to my mind is very central,” he said in response to a question on the timing of the subsidy reduction.
“We will do it at the right time,” he said.
Malaysia currently absorbs much of the price of fuel and cooking oil for its population, a move that was estimated to cost RM81bil last year. — Bloomberg
