Previously, the minister said that chicken prices are rising, so eat eggs, now what?
At a time when the world is still struggling with global economic pressures, Malaysians will face another change when the government announces a halving of egg subsidies starting tomorrow.
Prices are expected to increase by around 3 sen for all grades – a small increase, but quite noticeable for some households.
And the prices will continue to increase because the subsidies will also continue to be cut until the egg subsidy is eliminated by August 1.
The government believes that this decision was made because the cost of egg production has stabilized and there is sufficient supply for Raya Aidilfitri.
But who will guarantee that prices will remain stable after the subsidy is withdrawn?
As a mitigation measure, the government will introduce “special grades of affordable eggs” to ease the impact of the subsidy cuts and continue the Agro Madani and Rahmah Sales.
Since 2022, almost RM2.5 billion has been spent to cover egg subsidies.
Now, the government has declared the subsidy an unsustainable measure and that rationalization of subsidies is necessary for the sake of fiscal stability and aid transparency – especially when the rich and foreigners are also subsidizing each other.
The savings will be channeled to other more ‘meaningful’ projects, according to Madani’s aspirations.
But the question is, is it worth withdrawing subsidies from the only affordable food for the B40 group just because it is also taken by the rich and foreigners?
