Diesel subsidy rationalisation: Anwar, 3 ministers hauled to court

Two individuals have hauled Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and three ministers to court over the government’s decision to remove diesel subsidies for petrol pumps in Peninsular Malaysia.

Azhani Marlan@Abd Halim and Mohd Hatta Sanuri’s civil action targeted not only Anwar, but also Economy Minister Mohd Rafizi Ramli, Domestic Trade and Living Costs Minister Armizan Mohd Ali, Transport Minister Anthony Loke, and the federal government.

The judicial review leave application targeted the cabinet’s decision on June 9 to remove diesel subsidies at diesel pumps across Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak are not affected.

The following day, diesel prices were floated and followed the market rate of RM3.35. The current price for diesel at the pump is RM2.15 per litre, RM1.20 less than the market rate.

However, according to court documents sighted by Malaysiakini, Azhani and Hatta claimed that road users are currently burdened by a hidden charge of 40 sen per litre of diesel paid to the government.

Currently reading in the peninsula, the duo claimed this was caused by the manner in which the automatic pricing mechanism (APM) was implemented.

They claimed their calculation showed that road users in the peninsula ended up overpaying for diesel, and demanded the government return the excess payments.

The duo claimed that the “illogical, irrational, unjust and one-sided” policy triggered a domino effect of increased prices of goods and services that brought grief to Malaysians in the peninsula.

‘Second-class citizens’

Azhani and Hatta questioned Finance Minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan’s promise of no hike in goods and services prices from the policy change, pointing out that the people’s economic well-being has been jeopardised since the implementation of the subsidy rationalisation.

They cited several news reports such as a 25 percent increase in the price of construction materials and lorry services, and a rise in the price of goods used by the food and beverage industry.

The duo also claimed that the government’s decision resulted in Peninsular Malaysia residents ending up as “second-class citizens” compared to those in Sabah and Sarawak.

They contended that the government’s justification that the policy move was to curb smuggling did not make sense as it implied such activities only happened in the peninsula and not in Sabah and Sarawak.

Besides a court order to quash the cabinet decision and restore the diesel subsidy, the two also seek for the government to pay unspecified general, aggravated and exemplary damages to every citizen of Malaysia.

When contacted by Malaysiakini, the applicants’ counsel Mohaji Selamat claimed that the government did not respond to their letter dated Aug 30 for an explanation of the issue.

Concerning the judicial review leave application filed on Sept 7, the lawyer said the Kuala Lumpur High Court fixed Oct 29 to hear the action.

He added that the cause papers have been served on the respondents’ legal representatives from the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).

In the event that the civil court grants leave, it would later set a separate date to hear the parties’ submissions on the merits of the action.

Hatta previously came into the limelight over two legal actions against the government’s decisions, namely over the Batu Puteh sovereignty issue and the cancellation of the RM110 billion High-Speed Rail project between Malaysia and Singapore.

Both actions were dismissed by the civil court.

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