Not fair to label middle-income families as ‘ultra-rich’ under T15 classification, says Muhyiddin

KUALA LUMPUR: Implementing subsidy rationalisation by redefining the T15 group could end up being unfair to the middle class, says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

While taking part in debates on Budget 2025 in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (Oct 23), the Pagoh MP said the government had yet to define the T15 group, but it purportedly included those with a monthly household income of RM13,296 and above.

He pointed out that under such a classification, a husband-and-wife pair that earns RM7,000 a month each would end up in the T15 group.

“It would be unfair to classify such families as ‘ultra rich’ when their disposable income would be affected by housing and car loans, including education fees for their children,” Muhyiddin said.

He also said that the withdrawal of the petrol subsidy for T15 households next year would cause a ripple effect on the economy, resulting in a higher cost of living and inflation.

“The government must review its subsidy rationalisation policy as inflation is expected to rise between 2% and 3.5% next year,” he said.

Muhyiddin also called on the government to deliver on the promises it had made, rather than indulging in “sweet talk”.

“The other side has made many public announcements but (they) have not been implemented it.

“This raises many questions on whether the Madani government does what it promises or is merely indulging in sweet talk,” the Bersatu president said.

He said this in reference to rising costs of living which affected the rakyat even as foreign investments hit RM160bil with the economy growing 5.9% while inflation was at 1.9%.

The Bersatu president said studies by independent think tanks showed that the reality on the ground was different from the rosy picture painted by such positive economic indicators.

“The Malaysian Institute for Economic Research (MIER) found that 72% of respondents were significantly affected by the rising cost of living with a majority of them forced to cut their daily expenses.

“The study also found that 99% of respondents worry about the cost of living while 96% said that their main concern was a rise in the cost of sundry goods,” he said.

He also said that the RM1,700 minimum wage next year would result in a high cost of living for consumers.

He said this was because employers, including smaller businesses, would transfer the higher cost of doing business to consumers.

Muhyiddin urged for clear policies paired with action to control the prices of goods if there is to be a wage increase next year.

He suggested that the government set up a special fund to provide food to the poor and lower-income groups who would bear the brunt of the rising costs of food.