Full subsidy system cannot be decided now, says Shahrir - The Star

By Manjit Kaur

KUALA LUMPUR: The fuel subsidy scheme to be announced Wednesday is a step towards the total revamp of the subsidy that will take place in August, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad said.

He said the full subsidy system couldn’t be decided immediately, as currently the Finance Ministry, for example, is still evaluating all proposals and a final decision had yet to be made on the scheme.

Shahrir said the announcement on Wednesday would be an incremental step towards that, and that he did not see the statements made by him and the Prime Minister as contradictory.

"The announcement by the Prime Minister should be seen as the implemental part, not the step towards the final solution.

"I don't think it is the final scheme, as there must be a system if there is a hike in fuel prices, what is the proper subsidy mechanism that the Government will use,'' he told a press conference Tuesday after his keynote address at the 1st Malaysian Construction Summit 2008 at PWTC here.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said on Monday that the new fuel subsidy scheme would be announced by the Government on Wednesday.

[More at http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/6/3/nation/20080603144707&sec=nation]