2015 was truly a year of great challenge for Malaysians, especially from the financial aspect. We had to contend first with the removal of the fuel subsidies, and then with the implementations of the GST at a rate of 6%, which inevitably drove up the prices of everyday necessities like food and transportation.

Towards the end of 2015, it was announced that bus and LRT fares would rise, and so would toll rates. This has caused many people to struggle in keeping up with their budget. Many have been forced to come up with creative ways to earn more by taking on a second or part time job.

Rather unfortunately, experts predict that this year may be worse, with even more pronounced negative effects on the layman’s expenditure. Here are the areas where we can expect price hikes:

Even Higher KLIA Express fares



There was an outcry on social media recently when the authorities announced that the fares for a one way trip on the KLIA express was raised from RM 35 to RM55 starting January 1st 2016. However, it was also stated that this rate was actually meant to be a lot higher and the approved rate was actually RM64. Since this fare has not been revised since 2002, we can expect that the actual approved price of RM64 will come into effect either this year or at the latest, next year.

Increased Public University fees



Both the Ministry of Higher Education and most public universities received budget cuts in the last annual budget tabled at the end of 2015. The university that faced the highest cut was Universiti Malaya with 27.3% budget reduction, followed by Universiti Malaysia Terengganu and UiTM. This has made many parents and students alike worry that fees may increase, even though the public universities themselves have given the assurance that undergraduate fees will remain the same.

Pricier Electricity bills



At the beginning of 2015, the government did away with the policy of allowing those with electricity bills below RM21 to be fully subsidized (meaning if your bill was below RM21, it’s completely free). Now everyone has to pay their bills no matter how much it is. This is coupled with the fact that in 2016, the tariff for electricity has been increased 0.73 cents per kilowatt hour. In general, rebates for power tariffs have been slashed by 33%.

More Expensive Cars



The price of local cars by our home grown producers Proton and Perodua will see a stark increase as they have stated that the most of their essential raw materials are imported and our falling Ringgit has made these parts costlier. The devaluation of the Ringgit has also impacted their everyday operating chain, especially overall operating costs.

Imported cars will also see increased prices due to the same reason, the weakening of the Malaysian currency against the Japanese Yen, the Pound Sterling, the Euro and others.

Costlier Meals



Expect your favourite dish of Nasi Lemak or Fried Kuey Teow to cost more this year, not only because of the overall inflation, but because the recent 2016 budget removed the oil price stabilization scheme
which kept a ceiling on cooking oil prices. Now that ceiling has been removed, experts foresee that cooking oil producers will take advantage of this new ruling and increase their current rates.

Keep in mind that all types of cooking depend on oil, from the most posh hotels to your grandma’s kitchen, so even home cooked meals may be affected.