Malaysia govt denies rumours linking subsidised petrol to road fines
- Published on December 18, 2025 at 05:08
- 1 min read
- By Raevathi SUPRAMANIAM, AFP Malaysia
As Malaysian authorities urged motorists to pay outstanding summonses before the end of 2025, social media posts falsely claimed failure to do so would result in drivers losing access to a government fuel subsidy. No such measure has been officially announced, while the Transport Ministry has said unpaid fines do not affect eligibility for subsidised petrol.
"Eligibility for Budi Ron95 will be withdrawn next year for those who don't pay their summons before Dec 31," reads a Malay-language TikTok post shared on December 10, 2025.
Malaysian citizens receive up to 300 litres (79 gallons) of subsidised fuel each month under the government's BUDI95 scheme (archived link).
Malaysia's Road Transport Department has issued repeated calls for motorists to pay outstanding summonses by January 1, 2026 -- while the Transport Ministry has announced a series of discounts to encourage drivers to settle fines (archived here and here).
Posts claiming drivers who did not pay their fines by December 31 will lose their fuel subsidy also surfaced elsewhere on TikTok and on Facebook, with the claim appearing to stem from a now-deleted article by the Malay Mail newspaper.
Although Transport Minister Loke Siew Fook has warned that drivers could be blacklisted for failing to pay summonses, the circulating claim is inaccurate.
There are only two requirements to receive the fuel subsidy -- being a Malaysian citizen and holding a valid driver's licence (archived link).
A keyword search on Google led to a post rejecting the claim on the Finance Ministry's official Facebook page on December 10 (archived link).
It also included a statement from the Transport Ministry that said: "According to current policies, to apply for and to enjoy the BUDI95 subsidy, the individual must be a Malaysia citizen which can be verified via an identity card and they must have a valid drivers license."
AFP has debunked other misleading claims about Malaysian government subsidies.
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