[Watch] Not All T20s Are Rich — And The RON95 Subsidy Debate Is Proving It

0 Sara Smith May 15, 2026

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A Malaysian renovation boss has pointed out something many urban Malaysians quietly relate to — not everyone labelled “high income” is actually living large.

Gavin Liew, who runs a home renovation company, shared a video recounting two very different client experiences.

Both households fall under Malaysia’s T20 category — the top 20 per cent of earners.

But their conversations with him could not have been more different.

One client casually asked whether it made more sense to renovate his current unit or just buy the unit next door and knock the two together.

The other couple spent nearly an hour agonising over whether they could even afford to furnish two bedrooms, with a mortgage, childcare bills and monthly commitments already eating into their pay.

Same category on paper. Very different life in reality.

But The Government Hasn’t Decided Anything Yet

His point is simple: RM12,000 a month in Mont Kiara is not the same as RM12,000 a month in Kota Bharu.

But the subsidy framework doesn’t distinguish between the two.

The T20 bracket officially starts at RM11,800 a month, which means a dual-income couple in Kuala Lumpur, each earning RM6,000, falls into the same category as a single earner bringing home RM30,000.

Same bracket on paper, but a completely different financial reality.

The video struck a nerve — not because the categorisation problem was new, but because it landed at exactly the right moment.

Concerns about how the T20 bracket is defined have been raised before, but they take on greater urgency now that a real policy decision is on the table: whether to cut RON95 subsidies for households the government considers wealthy enough to pay full price.

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The Data Already Knows The Difference

What makes this more than just a social media grievance is that Malaysia’s own statistics agency already recognises the difference.

The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) sets state-specific income thresholds — meaning a household classified as T20 in Kuala Lumpur might only qualify as M40 in Kelantan.

But when it comes to subsidy policy, that regional nuance largely disappears.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke has said no decision has been made yet, and that the current subsidy system remains in place while the review is ongoing.

Officials are still figuring out exactly where to draw the line — whether to cut subsidies for the top five, 10, 15, or the full top 20 per cent of earners.

@sincerejuliet M40 & T20 kena pura2 jadi B40 #sincerejuliet ♬ original sound – Sincere Juliet

So Who Counts As Rich, Exactly?

Some lawmakers, including DAP MP Lim Lip Eng, have made the same argument as Liew — that T20 does not automatically mean rich, especially for families in high-cost cities.

Economists have echoed that concern, warning that a blunt income cut-off could penalise households that earn decent salaries on paper but have little left over at the end of the month.

One alternative being floated is to base the subsidy cut on how much fuel a person actually uses, rather than what they earn — the idea being that truly wealthy households tend to drive bigger, thirstier cars and fill up more often.

Investment, Industry and Trade Deputy Minister Liew Chin Tong has pointed to the Budi95 mechanism as a useful tool for this reason, saying it gives the government data to understand how Malaysians actually travel and use fuel — though he was quick to clarify that he had not announced a 150-litre monthly cap as government policy, after remarks he made at an AFFIN Bank event were reported out of context.

The government says it is still studying the data before making any changes.