Malaysia fuel prices to skyrocket

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Malaysia’s prime minister, was expected to announce details of the reforms on Wednesday in a move that could double Asia’s second-cheapest pump prices.

The government has said it plans to start using global market rates for fuel in August to prevent subsidies from eating up a third of its budget.
   

“These proposals will see inflation go up by one per cent and reduce the gross domestic product by 0.5 per cent,” reported the pro-government New Straits Times newspaper on its web site without identifying the source of the information.
   
Apart from pushing up inflation, already at 15-month high, a fuel price hike could stoke public anger against Abdullah at a time when he is trying to arrest a slide in public support for the government and fend off a challenge to his leadership.

A cabinet committee on inflation has proposed measures including allowing dominant power distributor, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (Tena KL), to raise electricity tariffs in all of Malaysia except the provinces on the island of Borneo.