KOTA KINABALU, June 15 — Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali has again urged goods and public land transport companies in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan to register immediately under the Subsidised Diesel Control System (SKDS) to enjoy the diesel subsidy benefits.

He said registration would enable eligible companies to receive fleet cards and enjoy subsidised diesel rates of RM2.15 per litre for goods transportation and RM1.88 per litre for public land transport operators.

Armizan said applications for the SKDS for the goods transport sector were extended to Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan on May 4.

“The mandatory use of SKDS fleet cards to obtain diesel subsidies for the goods and public land transport sectors will be enforced on a date to be announced later. Therefore, companies in both sectors are urged to register under SKDS as soon as possible.

“This is important to ensure that vehicles listed under the 33 eligible vehicle categories continue to receive subsidised diesel,” he told reporters after presenting the Petronas Fleet Card SmartPay to several companies that had obtained SKDS approval here today.

According to Armizan, a total of 8,060 companies across Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan had registered under SKDS, involving 29,631 vehicles, as of June 14.

He stressed that transport operators should take advantage of the registration process to avoid having to purchase diesel at market prices.

On a related matter, the minister said SKDS was introduced to address diesel subsidy leakages through a digital monitoring and enforcement mechanism.

“The fleet card system under SKDS is designed to ensure that diesel subsidies fully benefit the targeted recipients.

“It is also part of efforts to curb subsidy leakages through smuggling, abuse and misuse of subsidised diesel by foreign nationals and undocumented migrants,” he said.

Details on eligible vehicle categories and SKDS registration can be found on the MySubsidi portal at https://mysubsidi.kpdn.gov.my. — Bernama 

PUTRAJAYA, June 15 — The Economy Ministry expects Malaysia’s inflation rate to remain under control at between 1.5 and 2.5 per cent throughout this year despite pressure from the energy supply crisis and global geopolitical uncertainties.

Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said the government is committed to ensuring that inflation does not have a major shock effect on the economy and the people’s cost of living even though price pressures are expected to continue.

He said the country’s latest inflation rate was recorded at 1.9 per cent, much lower than the global inflation forecast of around 4.3 per cent.

“For 2026, our comfortable projection is for inflation to occur between 1.5 and 2.5 per cent. This is our target so that inflation movements remain within the scope that we can handle and do not have a significant impact on the people,” he told the media after the monthly gathering of the Economy Ministry here today.

He said this when asked to comment on the expected inflationary pressure in the second quarter of this year following the disruption of global energy supplies and its impact on the transportation and food sectors.

Akmal Nasrullah said the current inflationary pressure was due to the increase in costs related to oil supplies and input goods needed to maintain economic activity.

In this regard, he said the government is continuing various mitigation measures including the targeted distribution of fuel subsidies, control of logistics costs through the Subsidised Diesel Control System (SKDS), as well as additional financing of RM5 billion through the Business Financing Guarantee Scheme (SJPP) and Bank Negara Malaysia facilities to help small businesses survive.

However, Akmal Nasrullah said inflationary pressures could increase if the global crisis continues.

“So far, we have managed to maintain inflation at around 1.9 per cent, but the pressure will continue to have an impact. That is why we continue to look at official data and the actual situation at the industry level so that intervention measures can be taken earlier,” he said. — Bernama