PUTRAJAYA, May 19 — An approach using household net disposable income metrics will be implemented in January next year (2024) as an economic structuring measure for a more focused distribution of targeted subsidies, said Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.

He said the current approach which is more focused on B40, M40 and T20 income does not really give a true picture where household disposable income is concerned when compared from one household to another, covering the number of dependent children and individual location.

Rafizi said this new approach will be integrated with socioeconomic database, Pangkalan Data Utama (PADU) announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim recently as an effort to combine socio-economic information for every household in the country to streamline the implementation of targeted subsidies.

"Once we get to that level (household net disposable income), we will get a clearer picture of the net disposable income’s comparability for households, and that will allow us to refine any government programmes and target subsidies accordingly,” he said in a press conference here today.

Asked if the targeted subsidy distribution also covers the RON95 fuel subsidy, he said the government will focus on the electricity and diesel subsidy components that have been announced and monitor their effectiveness first before announcing any decision on the RON95 subsidy.

"When we start switching to RON95, of course the consideration is bigger, involving more people and families from each household. That’s why we will ensure PADU is available by 2024 and any decision on how to target RON95 can be made easily,” he said.

Rafizi said the Economy Ministry will coordinate with other ministries and agencies so that the implementation of small, people-friendly projects across the country is accelerated in an effort to help the country’s economic growth.

"One step we will take is to ensure that government spending will continue and to focus on small projects where the procurement and approval process can be simplified and expedited,” he said. — Bernama