Fuel · BUDI95 2026
BUDI95 Explained: What Your RON95 Really Costs After the Quota Cut
Malaysia's targeted RON95 subsidy gives eligible citizens a fixed RM1.99/litre up to a monthly quota — cut from 300 L to 200 L in April 2026. Here is how the billing formula works, what the quota cut means for your fuel bill, and how to read your effective cost per litre.
Since late 2025, every eligible Malaysian citizen who fills up RON95 has been operating under a two-tier pricing system. Buy within your monthly quota and you pay the subsidised RM1.99/litre. Buy beyond it and you pay the unsubsidised market price, which floats week by week via the Automatic Pricing Mechanism (APM). That split — subsidised litres cheap, excess litres at market — is the core mechanic of BUDI95, Malaysia's targeted RON95 subsidy programme. This guide explains how the quota works, what the April 2026 cut means for your bill, and how to calculate your real cost per litre.
What is BUDI95?
BUDI95 is the government's targeted petrol subsidy for RON95, rolled out in late 2025. Rather than subsidising every litre sold at every pump — regardless of who is buying — BUDI95 restricts the RM1.99/litre subsidised price to eligible Malaysian citizens aged 16 and above who hold a valid driving licence. The subsidy is linked to your MyKad and vehicle registration; when you fill up at a participating pump, the system checks whether you have quota remaining for the month.
- Eligible: Malaysian citizens aged 16+, valid driving licence, registered vehicle.
- Not eligible: Foreigners, foreign-registered vehicles, and companies — all pay the unsubsidised market price regardless of volume.
- Subsidised price: Fixed at RM1.99/litre through 2026, regardless of market moves.
- Registered e-hailing drivers qualify for a higher monthly quota of 800 litres, reflecting their professional mileage.
The quota — and the April 2026 cut
When BUDI95 launched, the monthly quota was set at 300 litres. In April 2026 the government reduced it to 200 litres, citing fiscal consolidation. A further cut to 150 litres has been discussed by the Deputy Finance Minister, who noted that approximately 60% of Malaysians use under 150 litres per month and around 90% use under 200 litres — meaning most ordinary drivers would be unaffected even by the more aggressive cut.
- Original quota
- 300 L/month
- Quota from Apr 2026
- 200 L/month
- Proposed further cut
- 150 L/month
- E-hailing quota
- 800 L/month
Average subsidised consumption is estimated at around 83 litres per month, so the 200 L quota still covers most everyday drivers comfortably. The cut bites hardest on high-mileage private drivers — those commuting long distances daily — who previously relied on the full 300 L at RM1.99.
How the market price is set — the APM
Any litre you purchase above your quota is charged at the unsubsidised market price, which is not fixed. The Malaysian government adjusts RON95 market prices weekly under the Automatic Pricing Mechanism (APM), a formula-based system that tracks global crude oil prices and refining margins. Prices are announced each Wednesday for the following Thursday-to-Wednesday window.
For the week of 28 May – 3 June 2026, the unsubsidised RON95 market price is RM3.92/litre — down 15 sen from RM4.07 the prior week. This is the reference rate used in the worked example below. Current and historical weekly prices are published at data.gov.my/data-catalogue/fuelprice.
The billing formula
Your monthly RON95 bill under BUDI95 follows a straightforward two-part formula. Let L be total litres consumed, Q be your monthly quota (200 L for most citizens), and M be the current market price per litre:
- Subsidised portion: min(L, Q) × RM1.99
- Unsubsidised excess: max(0, L − Q) × M
- Total bill: sum of the two above
- Subsidy savings: subsidised litres × (M − 1.99)
- Effective cost/litre: total bill ÷ L
Everything at or below your quota is billed at RM1.99. Every litre above the quota is billed at the full market rate. There is no blending or pro-rating — the cutover is a hard threshold.
Worked example: 250 L at market RM3.92
A driver using 250 litres in a month when the market price is RM3.92/litre, with a 200 L quota:
- Subsidised (200 L × RM1.99)
- RM 398.00
- Excess (50 L × RM3.92)
- RM 196.00
- Total bill
- RM 594.00
- Vs full market (250 × RM3.92)
- RM 980.00
- Subsidy saving
- RM 386.00
- Effective cost/litre
- RM 2.376
The saving of RM386.00 is equal to 200 litres × (RM3.92 − RM1.99) = 200 × RM1.93. The effective rate of RM2.376/litre sits between the subsidised RM1.99 and the market RM3.92 — a blended rate that reflects what share of consumption falls within quota.
What the quota cut from 300 L to 200 L actually costs
For a driver using exactly 250 L per month, moving the quota from 300 L to 200 L means 100 additional litres shift from the subsidised RM1.99 to the market rate. At RM3.92 market, that is an extra 100 × (3.92 − 1.99) = RM193/month added to the fuel bill compared with the original 300 L quota. Drivers staying under 200 L are entirely unaffected — their entire consumption remains subsidised.
The closer your monthly consumption sits to the new 200 L threshold, the more the cut matters. A driver at 180 L/month feels nothing. A driver at 350 L/month loses 100 litres of subsidy cover and sees a material step up in cost. The impact is asymmetric by mileage.
Who pays market price from the first litre?
Foreigners and foreign-registered vehicles are excluded from BUDI95 entirely. They pay the market price on every litre of RON95 purchased at Malaysian pumps. At RM3.92/litre, a foreigner filling a 50-litre tank pays RM196 where an eligible Malaysian would pay RM99.50 (50 × RM1.99) — a gap of nearly RM96.50 per fill-up for the same volume. Companies and fleet vehicles registered under business entities similarly cannot access BUDI95; they fill at the market rate.
BUDI95 and your income tier
The targeted design of BUDI95 reflects a fiscal reality: blanket subsidies flow disproportionately to high-income households, which own more vehicles and drive further. By capping the subsidy at a monthly quota, the government concentrates savings where consumption is typical — under 200 L/month for roughly 90% of drivers — while reducing the windfall to high-mileage private users. If you want to understand where your household sits in Malaysia's income distribution and how that might relate to subsidy policy, the B40/M40/T20 explainer walks through how DOSM's 2022 income tiers are defined and what they mean in practice.
Common questions
- Does unused quota roll over to the next month? No. Each monthly quota allocation is use-it-or-lose-it. Any unused portion from the current month does not carry forward.
- What if I drive multiple vehicles? The quota is linked to the registered vehicle and driver. Households with multiple registered vehicles each have their own quota allocation per vehicle under the registered owner — check your vehicle registration for specifics.
- What about RON97? RON97 is not covered by BUDI95 and has always been sold at market price. BUDI95 applies only to RON95.
- Is the subsidised price the same at all pumps? Yes — the RM1.99 subsidised price applies at all participating BUDI95 pumps nationwide; it is not station-specific.
Calculate your own bill
Every driver's consumption is different. Use the Petrol Subsidy Calculator to enter your monthly litres and current market price — it applies the BUDI95 formula, shows your subsidised and above-quota costs, and calculates your effective cost per litre and total monthly saving. For broader financial context, the B40/M40/T20 income-tier guide explains how household income is classified in Malaysia and how targeted subsidy design relates to those tiers.