PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli has added to the chorus pressuring Putrajaya to slash fuel prices amid the falling global crude oil price.

 

Rafizi said the global crude oil price, which has fallen from US$105 per barrel to US$85, is expected to hover at that price until next year, according to analysts.

 

“If the government increases petrol and diesel prices when the cost of subsidy increases, shouldn't it be reduced when the cost of subsidy goes down to reduce the burden of the rakyat?" he said in a statement today.

 

Rafizi ( left ) estimated the government will save RM1.45 billion for this quarter alone from the lower global oil prices, and will save another RM4.2 billion next year if the price remains the same.

 

"The RM1.45 billion savings for this year and RM4.2 billion savings expected in 2015 should be returned to the rakyat and not kept as allocation for the prime minister and his ministers," he said.

 

Rafiz, who is also Pandan MP, said Deputy Finance Minister Chua Tee Yong had been non-committal when asked in Parliament if fuel prices would be slashed in light of this recent global development.

 

The government last month increased the price of RON95 fuel and diesel by 20 sen to RM2.10 and RM2.00 respectively, citing pressure on the government's finances due to subsidies.

 

This came after a 20 sen hike in September last year, under the government's "subsidy rationalisation" plan.

 

However, several politicians, including DAP's Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong, have said the hike is no longer justifiable owing to the fall in global crude oil price.