PENAMPANG: The Kadazandusun Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) has expressed its alignment with the federal government’s ongoing targeted subsidy rollout, emphasising that plugging leakages is vital for long-term economic resilience.
However, the Chamber urges swift, agile adjustments to the current administrative mechanisms to protect East Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from severe operational disruptions.
Datuk Ladislaus Maluda, President of KCCI, noted that while the strategic intent behind the national policy is sound, the focus must now shift to smooth execution on the ground.
“In an era defined by global economic volatility, KCCI supports the national objective of moving away from unsustainable blanket models toward prudent, targeted spending.
Ensuring public funds directly benefit local citizens is key to national growth. However, because our SMEs are the primary engine of this growth, the government must take immediate heed of grassroots feedback regarding how these changes are being enforced at the ground level.”
Given the distinct economic realities of East Malaysia—where diesel-reliant utility vehicles serve as the literal backbone for daily commerce, rural transport, and trade—KCCI warns that rigid compliance structures risk bottlenecking the productivity of smaller, suburban, and rural enterprises.
This presidential call for administrative flexibility reinforces the specific operational solutions raised by KCCI’s Head of Trade, Investment & Transport, Mr Carl Moosom.
Highlighting the practical hurdles facing local operators, Mr Moosom pointed out that while the established BUDI MADANI mechanism for RON95 utilises a highly accessible, straightforward approach, the parallel diesel mechanism operates on a strict compliance framework that creates severe administrative friction for small businesses.
To resolve this, Mr Moosom advocated for a practical refinement to the ongoing implementation:
“The mechanism for subsidised diesel relies on heavily structured identity card and registration protocols that are currently generating uncertainty across Sabah and Sarawak.
To keep the local economy moving, the government should implement a simplified, automatic baseline allocation of 200 litres per month for all MyKad holders residing in East Malaysia.
This provides a hassle-free cushion for daily transport and small-scale trade, while any consumption beyond that baseline can be managed on a verified demand or commercial basis.”
KCCI stands ready to collaborate directly with the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) to bridge these implementation gaps, ensuring national policy goals are met without penalising the daily operations of the East Malaysian business community.
