The Cabinet is mulling over the possibility of cutting prices, several ministers said.

They said the matter was discussed during their weekly meeting yesterday but declined to elaborate, saying that Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi was expected to make an announcement soon.

Higher Education Minister Khaled Nordin said the possibility of consumers paying less for fuel was raised and that the mechanics were still being worked out.

Information Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek also admitted that the Cabinet was studying the matter. 'Let the Prime Minister make the announcement,' he said on Tuesday.

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Shahrir Samad, however, declined to comment on the subject, saying that it would be best to wait for Datuk Seri Abdullah to do so.

On June 5, the government raised the prices of petrol and diesel by 41 per cent and 63 per cent respectively, on the grounds that it could no longer continue to subsidise fuel, but gave a 30-sen-a-litre discount from market prices.

The move sparked widespread anger and protests among Malaysians already struggling with higher prices of food and other goods.

About 15,000 Malaysians gathered at a stadium near Kuala Lumpur on July 6 for a mass anti- government rally organised by the opposition alliance.

Currently, Malaysians are paying RM2.70 (S$1.13) a litre for regular petrol, while diesel is priced at RM2.58 per litre.

Meanwhile, Malaysians are bracing themselves for higher bus fares during Hari Raya.

Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development Minister Noh Omar said that following pleas from bus operators, fares on inter-state express and local city buses would definitely be raised.

But bus companies would not get the 100 per cent increase they were asking for, the New Straits Times reported.

'It is just a matter of a percentage increase. I will make an announcement before Hari Raya. In the meantime, the ministry will continue to discuss the matter,' Datuk Noh said on Tuesday.

Bus operators have been asking for the fare hike, to help offset the recent fuel price increase and rising operational costs.

The Pan Malaysian Bus Operators Association (PMBOA) drew attention to their woes at the National Inflation Council's meeting on Monday. The association, which is a member of the council, had in April also submitted a memorandum to the government.

Datuk Noh said a doubling in fares would burden the public.

'We will put the public's interest first, but we also understand the problems of bus companies. We know that they have been struggling since fares were last raised in 2005, as the price of diesel has gone up since then,' he said.

In an immediate reaction, PMBOA president Mohamad Ashfar Ali said if the government could not raise fares by 100 per cent, it should fulfil other requests, such as a higher quota of subsidised diesel and removal of the sales tax on bus parts.

'Raising fares by 100 per cent is the minimum for us to survive. We've told the government this. If they can't, they should give us a combination solution,' he said.

'We sympathise with passengers but, at the same time, we don't want to go out of business.'

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK