KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 (Bernama) -- In the weeks before June 10, 2024 – when targeted diesel subsidies were implemented – there was a spike in diesel-related Google searches coming from the north and east coast states of Peninsular Malaysia.
This is hardly surprising. In the northern and eastern coastal regions, agriculture and fishing are vital industries that significantly impact the livelihoods of local communities.These industries are also heavily reliant on diesel.
Agricultural machinery, fishing boats, and trawlers depend on diesel to operate. Any price increases or subsidy changes can directly affect the livelihoods of farmers and fishermen in these communities.
Bernama looked at Google search trends during the month leading up to the implementation of targeted diesel subsidies (May 9 – June 9, 2024) and found that Pahang (100), Kelantan (94), Terengganu (90), Kedah (77), and Perlis (76) recorded the highest search interest for diesel fuel.
This trend continued into the week following the start of the subsidies, with Kelantan (100), Kedah (95), Pahang (95), Perak (85), and Terengganu (76) leading in search interest.
(The figures do not reflect the number of searches, but rather, its popularity. Google uses a value of 100 to reflect the peak popularity for the term. A value of 50 means that the term is half as popular.)
Their concerns are reflected in the keywords most used for the searches.
For instance, in Kelantan, searches for ‘Toyota Hilux’, the country’s most popular diesel-powered vehicle, spiked in the weeks surrounding the subsidy announcement. This vehicle is typically used in small businesses and could indicate concern over the cost of operating diesel-powered vehicles.
The north and east coasts are home to 65.7 percent of Malaysia's fishermen and a large portion of its farmers (68.2 percent), making diesel an essential fuel in these regions.
Estimates from 2022 by the Department of Agriculture showed that Kedah had the largest concentration of farmers (66,886) in Peninsular Malaysia.
This was followed by Johor (64,501), Kelantan (50,765), Pahang (44,253), Perak (43,694), Selangor (20,966), Perlis (18,201), Terengganu (14,286), Penang (8,741), Negeri Sembilan (8,474) and Malacca (8,254).
Meanwhile, figures from the 2021 Registrar of Fishermen Association showed that Perak is home to the largest number of fishermen (13,194). This was followed by Johor (8,580), Kedah (8,022), Terengganu (6,586), Penang (5,684), Kelantan (3,962), Selangor (3,732), Perlis (3,144), Pahang (2,638), Malacca (1,068) and Negeri Sembilan (558).
Fishermen in these regions are also recipients of most of the subsidised diesel fuel, accounting for 77.2 percent of the total.
According to the Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia (LKIM), fishermen in Perak received the most subsidised diesel in 2021 (3,823), followed by Selangor (1,535), Kelantan (1,477), Kedah (1,121), Terengganu (1,008), Pahang (847), Perlis (616), Johor (571), Penang (410), Malacca (81) and Negeri Sembilan (24).
The high interest in diesel following the subsidy implementation highlights the critical role it plays in the economic well-being of these coastal states, where transportation, business operations, and essential industries like fishing and farming depend on affordable fuel.
Cognisant of these concerns, the government has continued targeted diesel assistance through LKIM while maintaining the price of subsidised diesel for fishermen at RM1.65 per litre.
This is done by making fishermen scan their identification cards before they refuel and go out to sea. This ensures that only fishermen registered with LKIM will receive subsidised fuel. This helps reduce their operational costs, keep fish prices stable and ensures the sustainability of the fishing industry.
In the recent tabling of Budget 2025, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim reaffirmed the government's commitment to continue providing subsidised diesel for fishermen, keeping their fuel costs stable.
Meanwhile, the BUDI Madani programme introduced diesel fuel assistance through the BUDI Individu and BUDI Agri-Komoditi initiatives, reflecting the government’s broader effort to support vulnerable sectors. BUDI Individu provides RM200 per month in aid to eligible Malaysian individuals owning diesel-based personal vehicles. BUDI Agri-Komoditi gives RM200 per month in aid to eligible small-scale farmers and commodity smallholders.
Nearly 300,000 owners of diesel-based personal vehicles in Peninsular Malaysia are qualified to receive aid under BUDI Individu, while nearly 400,000 small-scale farmers and commodity smallholders are qualified to receive aid under BUDI Agri-Komoditi. As of June 19, 2024, the Ministry of Finance has approved 100,000 aid applications for BUDI Individu and BUDI Agri-Komoditi.
However, applications from small-scale farmers for BUDI Agri-Komoditi were still quite low.
According to Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, as of September 20, the government has so far received over 66,000 applications from small-scale farmers for the initiative, with 10,000 being appeal applications. This figure falls short of the estimated 214,000 small-scale farmers in the country who are eligible to receive the monthly cash assistance.
Targeted diesel subsidies have helped reduce subsidised diesel sales by 30 percent as of October. This has saved the government more than RM600 million a month, as revealed during the tabling of Budget 2025 on Oct 18.
Prime Minister Anwar when presenting the budget also announced that fuel subsidies for RON 95, a heavily subsidised petrol, will be removed by the middle of 2025.
-- BERNAMA
About the Data
Please take note that some of the data was collected through Google Trends on July 9, 2024. Google Trends normalises search data to make comparisons between terms easier. Search results are normalised to the time and location of a query. Google Trends data reflects searches people make on Google every day, but it can also reflect irregular search activity, such as automated searches or queries that may be associated with attempts to spam Google’s search results.