Rafizi Ramli has resigned from his position as the minister of economy of Malaysia, following his loss in the recent PKR party election for the position of deputy president to Nurul Izzah Anwar.
“I have submitted my resignation letter to the prime minister. My defeat in the recent PKR election means I no longer have the party’s mandate to translate the people’s agenda, as championed by PKR, into government programmes,” Rafizi said in a statement.
The Pandan member of parliament added that his resignation from the economy minister post will take effect on June 17, and he will take the remainder of his annual leave from today until June 16.
During Rafizi’s tenure as economy minister, the ministry launched the Pangkalan Data Utama (PADU) socio-economic database in January 2024. Initially defined as a key component in determining how subsidies and financial assistance were re-targeted, the database – which cost RM85 million to implement – was utilised for the rationalisation of diesel subsidies in June 2024, but has since largely gone off the radar.
Despite Rafizi having stated last November that there would be a second phase of registration for PADU in preparation for the implementation of the targeted RON 95 petrol subsidy, the government’s decision to go with MyKad in the planned implementation likely means that PADU no longer plays a key role in defining how targeted petrol subsidy will be dispensed.
On May 19, Rafizi announced that the RON 95 petrol subsidy rationalisation plan had been fully handed over to the finance ministry, and that the MoF would be managing the entire RON 95 subsidy process from now on.
Earlier this week, second finance minister Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said that the RON 95 subsidy rationalisation will be rolled out in the second half of this year as planned. Prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has however said that the majority of the rakyat will not be affected by the move, and that only a select few (which Anwar was said to have mentioned as the 5% ultra rich) and foreigners would be paying more for RON 95.
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