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MALAYSIA MAY NO LONGER GIVE OIL SUBSIDY BY 2014

By MOHD NASIR YUSOFF Bernama - Sunday, May 11

JAKARTA, May 10 (Bernama) -- Malaysia may no longer afford to provide price subsidy for fuel when it becomes a net importer of oil in 2014, said former Malaysian prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He said that in the present situation, Malaysia was more fortunate than Indonesia as the Malaysian population was 10 times smaller and the country's fuel consumption was much less compared to Indonesia which had to import oil as its domestic consumption had exceeded production. "Although Malaysia's oil production is much smaller than Indonesia's, we are able to export 250,000 barrels per day and when its price increases, the government is still able to provide subsidy," Dr Mahathir, who is also Petronas advisor, told reporters here Saturday. Dr Mahathir is here to attend and deliver a speech at the convocation of the Pancasila University. When asked by local journalists on his view regarding the current increase in the world oil price, he said when domestic oil consumption had exceeded production, the government would not be able to utilise income derived from the increase in the oil price to provide subsidy to the people. This would become a major problem to the country, he said, adding that there was a need to look for alternatives such as the use of manpower, which was abundant in Indonesia, which could be enhanced in terms of capacity and productivity to yield better income and reduce the consumption of imported goods. -- BERNAMA MNY AO

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