KOTA KINABALU, August 9 — The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs is updating data on recipients of the petrol subsidy programme from the lower-income group (B40) to ensure that only those who are eligible receive such assistance.

The Minister, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, said a good data is when no recipients who are eligible are left out.

"We need to be clear who the target recipients are and the criteria required to qualify for the aid. All these must be developed and the target recipients must be identified,” he told reporters at a credential-presentation ceremony for Sabah and Labuan Parliamentary Consumerism Coordinators here, yesterday.

Saifuddin said the implementation of the aid programme took time as there was no proper data to use.

He said the programme would not be implemented in the second quarter of this year as planned as the ministry had to collect the complete data of the recipients.

Saifuddin said as the ministry responsible for implementing the programme, several meetings with stakeholders were held including oil companies, petrol station operators and consumer associations.

He said it also involved meetings with important institutions such as Bank Negara and the Ministry of Finance. — Bernama