By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, April 26: The decision to maintain the diesel subsidy at RM2.15 per litre in Sarawak should not be seen as a handout but a long-overdue recognition of structural realities faced by the State, says Kuching South City Council (MBKS) Mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng.
Wee said fuel pricing debates in Peninsular Malaysia often focus on fiscal discipline and market correction, but tend to overlook a key factor — geography.
“Of what it actually costs to move a sack of rice, a cylinder of cooking gas, or a box of medicine across the vast interior of Sarawak,” he said in a statement.
Wee pointed out that Sarawak is larger than Peninsular Malaysia and characterised by a widely dispersed population across dense rainforest, remote highlands and riverine settlements, many of which remain difficult to access.
“In areas such as Belaga, Ba’kelalan and Long Seridan, reaching the nearest major town can take an entire day. This is not an inconvenience, but the physical reality of life here,” he stressed.
He explained that such conditions translate directly into higher costs of living, as goods must pass through multiple stages of transport before reaching interior communities.
“A bag of flour purchased in Kuching, by the time it reaches Kapit, has been loaded, unloaded and ferried several times. Diesel is the fuel that keeps these supply chains alive.
“Raise its price and you do not merely raise a fuel cost; you raise the price of nearly everything,” he said.
Wee also noted that logistics costs in East Malaysia can be two to three times higher than comparable routes in the Peninsula, making diesel not merely an energy input but a critical form of infrastructure.
In addition, he said Sarawak is structurally disadvantaged as cost increases originating in Peninsular Malaysia are compounded by additional transport and logistics expenses before reaching the State.
Wee also highlighted Sarawak’s long-standing contribution to the nation’s wealth, particularly through petroleum and gas output, timber resources and liquefied natural gas exports, while noting that development outcomes have not always been proportionate.
“For decades, revenue flowed to the federal treasury, but infrastructure development such as roads, rural electrification and broadband connectivity in Sarawak lagged behind,” he said.
Against this backdrop, he said framing the diesel subsidy as a fiscal indulgence misrepresents the broader historical and economic context.
“Sarawak is not asking for charity, but for policies calibrated to the conditions its people live in,” he added.
Wee further stressed that equal treatment across all states does not necessarily result in fair outcomes, especially in a federation with significant regional disparities.
Citing the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), he said national policies should reflect the distinct needs of Sabah and Sarawak, rather than apply uniform approaches designed for the Peninsula.
He added that perceptions of the subsidy as political patronage or fiscal irresponsibility fail to account for the realities faced by those on the ground, including transporters, contractors and households who are highly sensitive to fuel price fluctuations.
What is needed, he said, is a more grounded, data-driven approach to policymaking that recognises regional differences within Malaysia.
Wee maintained that keeping diesel at RM2.15 per litre is justified based on economic evidence, geography and the principle of equitable federalism.
“Malaysia works best when its policies are honest about the country it actually is, plural, spread across two landmasses, and home to communities whose needs do not conform to a single national template. That is not a weakness to be managed. It is a complexity to be honoured,” he emphasised. — DayakDaily
