KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 23 -- The government disclosed early plans to withdraw RON95 subsidy for the still-undefined "T15" of Malaysia in order to convey its intended direction for the country, said Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.

Responding to criticism of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's announcement of this and other subsidy withdrawals affecting this "T15" group, Rafizi conceded that there is no formal definition for the category at the moment.

However, he said there were already proposals on how to define the group, only that they have not been finalised at the Cabinet level.

"Why announce it during the Budget, even though it's not finalised? The Budget is a statement of the government's intentions," he said in a video online....