KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today said the planned increase in electricity tariffs by Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) won’t affect 85 per cent of Malaysians.

Anwar, who’s also the finance minister, said only industry players and the wealthy will be paying more.

“If we don’t tax the rich, where will the money come from to increase allocations for schools and hospitals?” he asked during the prime minister’s question time in the Dewan Rakyat here.

“So, we must accept a reasonable tariff increase for industries and the wealthy.

“I told business owners yesterday that we will not compromise, we have to raise it, but it will not affect 85 per cent of Malaysians,” he added.

Anwar was responding to Parti Pribumi Bersatu’s MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal, who asked why the government was “flip-flopping” on the electricity tariffs announcement.

Last month, Anwar said that the government does not allow any increase in electricity tariffs that would impact the public and has instructed TNB to provide clarification on the matter.

However yesterday, speaking in front of the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia members, Anwar said that there will be a slight increase on the tariffs.

He clarified that the electricity price increase will not be 14 per cent as rumoured.

The implementation of the tariffs hike will be through the Imbalance Cost Pass-Through (ICPT) system.

TNB, in an announcement to Bursa Malaysia last month, said a new tariff schedule with a base tariff of 45.62 sen per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for Peninsular Malaysia under Regulatory Period 4 (RP4) is proposed to be implemented starting July 1, 2025.

Under the Regulatory Period 3 (RP3) from 2022 to 2024, the base tariff is set at 39.95 sen/kWh.