WFH shock: Petrol consumption still rising despite less office travel

SHAH ALAM – Government efforts to reduce fuel consumption through work-from-home (WFH) arrangements appear to be falling short, with petrol usage continuing to rise amid higher global energy prices linked to the West Asia conflict.

Prime Minister’s economic adviser Nurhisham Hussein said the policy has not yet delivered the expected savings.

“Actually, based on our data, there’s been a slight increase,” he said during the Keluar Sekejap podcast.

The government had expected WFH arrangements for civil servants to reduce commuting and ease fuel demand, thereby lowering subsidy pressures. However, recent data suggests otherwise.

Nurhisham added that the government is still analysing the data to better understand the unexpected trend.

Despite the policy, overall mobility has not declined significantly, as many sectors continue to depend on physical commuting and transport.

The WFH initiative, introduced in April, was part of broader efforts to manage the impact of global supply disruptions triggered by the West Asia conflict, which have pushed up energy prices worldwide. It was also intended to ease congestion and reduce the government’s fuel subsidy burden.

Meanwhile, podcast co-host and former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the increase could be due to behavioural shifts, where people offset weekday savings with increased weekend travel.

“Maybe because people think they are saving energy on weekdays with WFH, then on weekends, they go on a ‘revenge’ spree,” he said.