The government has begun implementing weekly market-based pricing for unsubsidised RON 95 petrol, setting the new rate at RM2.65 per litre for the upcoming week. This price applies only to those who do not qualify for the Budi Madani RON95 (Budi95) subsidy. Malaysians eligible for Budi95 and holding a valid driving licence will continue paying RM1.99 per litre, receiving a 66-sen subsidy for every litre purchased.
The revised pricing was detailed in the finance ministry’s latest weekly fuel update released earlier tonight. Before this, unsubsidised RON 95 had been fixed at RM2.60 per litre throughout October — a measure Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan announced when the Budi95 programme was launched on September 30.
He explained then that the price cap for October was intended to help the public adapt to the Budi95 system before moving to a weekly floating mechanism tied to global fuel prices.
“We will keep the RM2.60 price stable for one month to get everybody comfortable with this price. After that, similar to diesel, prices will be revised weekly under the automatic pricing mechanism, which reflects global market prices as we also need to source supplies internationally,” he had said.
Amir Hamzah also highlighted that fuel prices would now fluctuate according to international market trends, just as diesel does — increasing when global prices rise and decreasing when they fall. As an example, he pointed to the end of blanket diesel subsidies last year, when retail diesel cost RM3.35 per litre before dropping in line with global oil prices. For the coming week, diesel will be priced at RM3.07 per litre.
