Remember the fuel subsidy the government wants to give to low-income earners? Well, there’s a hint on how it is going to be done – albeit it’s still very blurry – which is to deposit the (cash) amount straight into the recipient’s account.

It also appears that the individuals who receive the subsidy are the same people who are eligible for the Cost of Living Allowance (BSH) currently given out, said Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution to the Dewan Rakyat earlier today. The bank accounts of 90 per cent of them are already in the government’s database; the rest of the 10 per cent are mostly those who live in the interior parts of the country and will get assistance to open an account.

Essentially, the price of petrol will be the same for everyone with those in the B40 category able to rely on this extra money given by the government. Saifuddin added that the Finance Ministry has finalised the selection of a vendor to develop the system for implementation.

At the same time, the government is looking into the use of a card in order to identify recipients of the petrol subsidy. The card may also be useful when there are other targeted subsidies for other consumer goods to give out in the future.

According to the government, the B40 category is a household that earns a monthly income of below RM3,860.