Van and tour bus businesses, which are not covered by the targeted diesel subsidy scheme that was introduced in June 2024, are set to be further affected by rising diesel prices, with rental prices for these vehicles reportedly increasing by up to 80% per cent due to rising operating costs, the New Straits Times reports.
Industry players said the increase was not only being driven by higher diesel prices, but also rising maintenance and spare parts costs. According to Malaysian Tourist Guides Council president Jimmy Leong, operators could no longer absorb the additional costs and had to pass them on to customers.
He said that tour buses and vans being excluded from the subsidised diesel control system (SKDS) programme, unlike public transport and goods vehicles, meant an increase was unavoidable. “This directly raises operating costs for industry players,” he said, but added that operators were striving to maintain services despite the challenges.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) president Nigel Wong said that the increase could impact the tourism sector. “Higher prices may reduce demand, particularly among budget travellers,” he said, adding that the situation could affect preparations for Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026).
The SKDS 2.0 scheme began in March 2024 with five petroleum companies for nine vehicle types, and the list of vehicles eligible for subsidised diesel under this scheme was then expanded to a total of 33 vehicle types. Express, stage, mini and school buses are covered by the diesel subsidy programme.
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speaking as a disgruntled ex-gomen-cytro who hasnt been paid last 2 months salary , this fuel subsidy is riddled with flaws-
1. why peninsular drivers arent given budi05 for diesel? are they supposed to discard their diesel cars and buy a new petrol car?
2. why expats who pay tax to LHDN are denied subsidy while the local b40 leeches are entitled?
3. why malaysian citizens with NRIC are denied subsidy simply because they drive foreign-registered cars? they can speak passable Bahasa and sing nerakaku which more than meets the benchmark for citizenship compared to the 7 FAM footballers.
yeah lah.. u can admit u are some unpaid disgruntled ex gomen cytro.. anyone can say that… anyone can also say he’s some unpaid disgruntled ex opposition bloc cytro.. the fact is nobody needs to register their identity to post comments here and so all sorts of individuals can even hijack other user’s pseudonym to post or copy & paste all sorts of comments anonymously.
So what? I am a disgruntled ex-opposition coalition cytro who has not been paid 3 months salary..
So ..is the Govn trying to HELP the RAKYAT to have affordable transport ? Or Just help BIG COMPANIES to maintain their “Profits” ??? Why are these companies NOT given diesel subsidies BUT “ELITES” companies given subsidies???