When diesel prices go up

Freelance driver Azmi Abdullah now pays RM250 instead of RM160 to fill the tank of his 75-litre Starex MPV – enough to last him about three days in his line of work.

Azmi pays a total of RM2,500 a month now – RM900 more than he used to.

Tow truck driver Mohamad Murtada Husien fears he will have to raise his service fees in order to balance the books at the end of the month.

He used to charge about RM150 for distances of 20km and below, but expects to raise his prices by about 50%.

Vehicles such as tow trucks and school buses are expected to be especially affected by the higher diesel price.

A man watches as a tow truck pulls a school bus into a workshop compound.

Fruit seller Syahila Syariah helps a customer in Setiawangsa. She used to set aside RM50 for diesel each week but expects the necessary amount to rise.

Syahila runs her stall from the back of her family truck.

Husin Bakhtiar, a trader in Taman Melawati, has worked hard to keep his prices unchanged but will need his children's help to apply online for diesel subsidies from the government.

Trader Shaifuddin Md Nor pushes bundles of clothes from his van, which used to run on RM2,000 worth of diesel per month – an amount almost certain to rise.

Shaifuddin has been in the business for over a decade, selling clothes bundles for RM5 to RM30 each. He worries that he will have to increase his prices to offset the hike in diesel costs, which will in turn affect his customer base.

Composer Mohd Najib Mohd Nor who runs his own music studio has been renting out instruments and studio space for eight years now.

Najib uses a Hilux to transport the equipment that he rents out to event venues.

He is trying his best to maintain his prices but will likely be forced to increase them in the near future.