KUALA LUMPUR, June 13 — The government will focus on and step up the enforcement to make sure there is no disproportionate increase in prices after the recent implementation of diesel subsidy rationalisation, according to Treasury secretary-general Datuk Johan Mahmood Merican.

He said it is important to look into strengthening the enforcement so the businesses do not increase prices as it is completely unrelated to the scale of rationalisation being implemented.

"The rationalisation was meant to address internal smuggling and across the border to ensure it is better focused towards helping ultimately the rakyat as a whole,” he said at the panel session titled "Subsidy Rationalisation: Charting the Course Towards Economic Transformation” at Bank Negara Malaysia’s Sasana Symposium 2024 here today.

Johan also said that the government has spaced out the subsidy rationalisation across the board through a sequenced approach with the implementation of electricity tariff adjustments in 2022 and consequently the prices of chicken, water and diesel.

"We as a government and policymakers need to also really look into the behaviour of the rakyat in term of providing assistance and aid for them.

"What we did for electricity tariff is the tiered pricing where the higher volume users are subject to a higher tariff. That is quite fair,” he said, adding that the government has also started to see and become more flexible in exploring to what extent the government could earmark revenue. — Bernama