(Oct 27): Only Malaysians earning below RM10,000 monthly will get fuel subsidies from next year while those earning below RM5,000 monthly will get full subsidies, Putrajaya announced today.

Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said the subsidy rationalisation programme would be divided into three tiers.

"Those earning below RM5,000 per month will receive full subsidy while those earning between RM5,000 and RM10,000 will get a partial subsidy," he told reporters after officiating the Bank Rakyat International Islamic Banking Conference today.

He said the full mechanism was still being studied by the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry.

Putrajaya spends some RM24 billion a year on fuel subsidies for motorists but gets back about RM7 billion from sale of approved permits to import vehicles.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan on Thursday announced that the petrol subsidy rationalisation system was still under study and would be implemented using the MyKad.

Ahmad reportedly said the high-income group would have to pay RM2.58 per litre for RON95 while the low-income group would still continue to pay at per current RM2.30 per litre rate.

The rich would have to pay the full market price of RON95 petrol beginning June next year while the lower-income group would continue to enjoy the current subsidised rate.

He said that it did not make sense for those driving luxury cars to enjoy a subsidy of 75 litres of petrol while the lower-income group gets 7.5 litres for each refuelling.

The last time fuel subsidies were slashed was on September 2 last year with a 20 sen reduction in RON95 petrol and diesel subsidies, and a 15-sen subsidy decrease in RON97 petrol two days later.

In Budget 2015, tabled on October 10, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced that RON95, diesel and LPG would be exempted from GST effective April 2015.