Bernama file photo for illustration purposes
KUALA LUMPUR (June 29): The government will continue monitoring the decline in global oil prices and ensure the lower costs are passed on to consumers through cheaper goods, Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said.
The minister said that although Malaysia had successfully contained sharp price increases during the energy crisis through targeted subsidy programmes such as BUDI MADANI and the Subsidised Diesel Control System, the government’s focus has now shifted to ensuring consumers benefit from the downward trend in energy prices.
“When prices show a downward trend, this is an opportunity for us to ensure the decline is reflected in line with falling energy costs.
“The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living must ensure there are no elements of profiteering or opportunistic pricing that continue to burden consumers when operating costs have already begun to decline,” he said when winding up the ministerial explanation session on the global supply crisis in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Akmal Nasrullah said, besides monitoring prices, the government was also paying close attention to the financial position of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to ensure they maintained healthy cash flow amid economic uncertainty.
He said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) had allocated RM5 billion under its SME Relief and Recovery Facility to support small and medium enterprises, including MSMEs affected by the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
More than 1,000 MSMEs have utilised the facility, with RM700 million in financing approved, he added.
On measures to address economic uncertainty arising from geopolitical conflicts, Akmal Nasrullah said the government would continue advancing its High Growth High Value (HGHV) agenda to strengthen the country’s economic resilience and reduce reliance on low-value activities.
“We must remain fully committed to HGHV industries so that we do not rely on low- or medium-value activities indefinitely. For example, while Malaysia is not a newcomer to the global semiconductor industry, our strength remains concentrated in the back-end segment, which occupies a relatively low position in the overall semiconductor value chain.
“The interventions we can undertake include gaining access to intellectual property and enabling Malaysia to move into the front-end, or chip design stage, of the semiconductor industry. The game changer is happening now,” he said.
Akmal Nasrullah said one of the government’s key initiatives is its collaboration with ARM Ltd, under which 19 ARM technology access tokens have been awarded to produce Malaysian-designed semiconductor chips by 2030. – Bernama
