Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Up, up and up
Malaysians had braced for an increase in fuel prices but the hike has been sharper than they expected. It will be difficult for Malaysians who have been used to subsidies. Their livestyles must now change unless they want to pay more. Petrol has increased by 78 sens to RM2.70 per litre from RM1.92 while the new diesel price went up by RM1 to RM2.50 per litre. That's not all. Tenaga Nasional will raise electricity rates by 18% for homes and 26% for business users. We can expect the higher cost of production to be passed on to consumers. That means you can expect our "economy rice" to be more pricey. For salary workers, without any increase in wages, their spending power has immediately shrunk. For the Malaysian middle class, who form the majority of the one million taxpayers, it is a big burn in their pockets. But there is some good news. Owners of cars of 2 litre capacity engines and below, will get cash rebate of RM625 a year and their road tax will be cut by RM200. More details are expected to be issued over the next 48 hours but as of now, the petrol stations are packed.
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25 comments:
RM 625 rebate per annum, what a joke,
That comes to RM 52 per month.
I am driving a waja and it already costs me RM 100 per week for a full tank. With the price increase, it is gonna cost me roughly RM 200 for a full tank.
That translates to RM 800 per month on fuel alone. Which is 1/4 of my gross salary. with car payments and house payments, my disposable income is practically 0.
THIS IS A LOAD OF BS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
RM 625. what a joke.
if the public transport is good (i.e. like singapore), I wouldnt be so mad.
Good day Dato'Wong,
As all we know the petrol price around the world increase is inevitable.
The problem we, Malaysian facing now is different compared to UK(where they are also oil producing country previously) which cost them RM10 per liter.
The main difficulty for us is the public transport system was never improved. If they were fully utilized the RM 4 Billion (saved from previous subsidization) effectively, at least we won't have much difficulty even the petrol now RM 4/liter.
From the previous 4 Billon ringgit, what we noticed is new buses for Rapid KL and operating cost for LRT. That's all the improvement we get which is totally insufficient.
Advise to the government, improve our public transport system before fully stop subsidize or we RAKYAT the one suffers.
Thankyou.
More & more... the decks are being stacked against the educated middle class. Next, they will be going for the working class.
So, some have been saying "Thank you for voting Pakatan Rakyat, here is Your Hadiah"
Others said "Vote BN? They are raising the price of petrol after the GE. Vote us & we will do something"
The rest of us, can only wait & suffer!
The system has clearly failed & capitalism has surely failed. When or when will the tipping point come... yawn
Motorists rushing to fill petrol
Causing traffic jams in petrol stations
Finally it is confirmed the hike
From $1.92 to $2.70 a 40.6% jump
And people are feeling edgy with it
The global effects have made its way
The country has to follow suit
It can’t subsidize it any more
The motorists have to pay
There is no choice
When other countries are feeling the heat
We will criticize
We will cry in our minds
Telling the sleeping beauty
He better sleeps out from his Dark Hill
It is better to understand
The economics of the managing wealth
We can’t be living on subsidies forever
It has to end; it is better now than later
Bite the damn bullet feel the pain
In a week one can think rationally
Now the BN government has extra funding
The sleeping beauty better know what to do
Don’t sleep on the job and let C4 boys run
Cause he is on borrowed time for now
The costs of many things will fly
It is the norm on the escalating cost
The BN government should think seriously
On the minimum wage to whet the workers appetite
It will not be the same any more
The BN government knows its term is slowly over
Increase the cost of petrol let the forces decide
At least now there is something to play about
About economics and the cronies…………
Petrol prices going up is inevitable and fair, in view of the high prices of crude oil. But what is not fair are the high taxes on automobiles, high road tax ( on all engine capacities ), high income tax rate, high "cukai taksiran" on properties, high expressway toll rates, etc.
When there's such a big fuel hike
It's time to change car for a bike
Or some may prefer their sporty spike
Although these choices are not what all like
(C)Samuel Goh Kim Eng - 040608
http://MotivationInMotion.blogspot.com
Wed. 4th June 2008.
I am a bit confused or did I read wrong. Haven't people been complaining about how bad subsidies were, that they only benefited the rich? So now the government is doing away with it and people are beginning to holler and complain. What's going on? Isn't a free market the thing that people want? Or is it because it's their milk bottle that they don't want taken away. Well, it's crunch time. They asked for it! So folks! Just swallow the medicine. There's more coming your way!
Pakatan Rakyat !!!Pakatan Rakyat !!!Pakatan Rakyat !!!Pakatan Rakyat !!!Pakatan Rakyat !!!
Anwar!! Anwar!!Anwar!!Anwar!!Anwar!!
Lets pressure BN government for a snap election... we don't need those Sabah/Sarawak/UMNO frogies!!! PR will winn 2/3 this time!!!
The hike is too steep for the man on the street and those in lower income group.
So what are we to do ?
Tighten our belts and bite the bullet ?
I salute Pak Lah. He had no choice. In fact nobody had a choice. The main culprits are American speculators who connived with Arab dictators to hold the world hostage. Pak Lah should have raised oil prices a long time ago. Our oil prices are still one of the cheapest in the world. So dont complain, you stupid, idiotic, oil guzzling Malaysians.
this govt lies big time. today's headlines was about price increase in August. Before you blink, you are now hit with 40% increase.
Can you trust this sort of government?
Now those who voted Barisan knows what kind of people they voted in. My staff just said she's resigning to work somewhere near her house to save on petrol. It meant higher staff cost for me to retain staff. I expect my already not economy rice seller to increase price of my lunch. I better drink water for luch since I get 20 M3 of it free every month. I hope the water will fill up my stomach enough that I will will die of starvation.
Most Malaysians can be persuaded that the removal of subsidies id a ‘good’ thing for the country on the long run. They can even be convinced to make sacrifices to the lifestyles they are used to for the betterment of society.
However, they will NOT tolerate any misuse of the savings from the removal of subsidies.
Now that the deed is done, I hope the UMNO led BN government will put the savings to good use and help those most in need, irrespective of race and religion.
If there’s even a whiff of old UMNOputra politics at play here, where a few benefit from the sacrifices of the many, I will join others and take to the street!
Let this be a last warning to UMNO/BN.
Instead of changing vehicle from car to motorbike, I would rather change the government from BN to Pakatan!!!
Many people have ask Pak Lah to resign , But i think he want to be sacked than resign . Snap Election is the only anwser to the problem M'sian having now . Once and for all Pak Lah and his "great advicer" gone after snap election .
Pak Lah ask Rakyat to "ubah Gaya Hidup" . For a start Pak Lah should stop using Governmemt Jet and start using Airasia and Mas to travel . That will save a lot of money and excess baggage .
Malaysia has a very distorted economy. We have subsidies in a lot of areas, and exorbitant taxes in other areas. It is toally screwed up. Subsidies in petrol leads to inefficiency in energy management, a lot of wastage, and smuggling out of petrol. On the other hand, the high duties imposed on motor vehicles lead to a lot of very old and badly maintained cars on the road.
We have price controls on poultry, and other food items, and all kinds of import restrictions, and monopolies in other areas like rice distribution.
We also have monopolies in entertainment (like Astro controlling the air waves), leading us to pay high subscriptions. And we get slaughtered on duties in liquor. We pay through our nose to get a drink of beer or wine!
Cronies make a killing on processing of permits for maids and skilled labour, as well as medical checkups for these workers etc.
The petrol price increase is justified, if all the other monopolistic practices are abolished too.
It is time to deregulate everything. But you all know that UMNO will only selectively deregulate, and only in areas that don't hurt the pocket books of the cronies.
The rakyat must change their lifestyles, but the BN politicians don't.
The reality hit home this morning when I went to fill up the Kelisa. A full tank of 27 litres now at RM73.00 or so. It used to be dollar to a litre and then increasing over the years. I live simply, no air-cond in my house. maybe i have to also get rid of Astro and forget about live telecasts. Disposable income practically nil. My bosses don't feel it because they get company cars and petrol thrown in. I doubt if anyone driving any car other than the local ones will even be affected. all the rich and well to do will pass on whatever costs they incur down below so they can still own the cars and have six airconds in their house. not to mention they will also get a rebate because they have a proton or a perudua for their spoilt kids. Rebate based on ownership rather than usage is not the way to solve the unfair subsidy package. and i can only imagine how in the world the cash rebates are going to be sent to us. owners of unused cars in junkyards could happily own a few cars and get rebates just by ownership.
there are some projects like NS, Rakan Muda, etc that are totally unnecessary. Plough those funds back into projects that matter.
I will vote for removal of subsidy. Let free market determine and we shop for the best price.
Anyway, prior to subsidy removal.. the rakyat needs to be assured of
1. a better transport system.
2. The money goes to real needs instead of more corridors or fake developments.
3. Accountability to the USD300 billion of petronas profit (which will never happen), or set up a real fund for Khazanah Bumi that cannot be touched.
With the wayang of BN government over the RM4 billion petrol money saving that is supposed to have gone towards better transportation measure, it is doubtful that any other kind of savings from gov would go to rakyat.
And it is true that we will rant about the price increase .. cause we are human. The bigger anger is when we find out what Barisan / UMNO will do with the money.
All I can say is that our govt must improve our public transport system. People will not be so mad if it can be done as soon as possible. Look at Singapore, people there can travel practically all over the place with ease just by using their public transport. Our govt should learn from them but then again can they?
Chun Wai,
I reproduce here my comment on Susan Loone's Blog:
Najib said - “Change your lifestyle”.
Please tell that to a young family with many hungry months to feed, school-going children, living in a cramped apartment with the father earning RM600 or less, eating simple meals daily to “change your lifestyle”.
It’s like asking a blind man, in a dark room, groping in the darkness, to search for a black cat!
What good is the RM625 subsidy to him, when he doesn't even own a motorbike, let alone a motorcar!
And on top of that he has to pay more for electricity, his bus fare, his 'nasi campur' or 'chap fun'.
Go tell him, Najib!
The Star's comparison of petrol prices in the region today is as usual one-sided. Yes, Singaporeans are paying RM5.20 a litre. That translates to about S$2.18 a litre.
But a fresh Singaporean graduate probably earns S$2,500 or RM5,950 a month compared to its Malaysian counterpart's RM2,500 a month.
Wait a minute.... fresh Malaysian graduates have difficulties finding a job! Sad!
Consumer affairs minister, Shahrir Samad says there were no direct subsidy from Petronas???
What are these oil subsidies??? This is a hoax story to hoodwink the general public on the believe that there are the purported subsidies. There are no subsidies only a hoax to cheat the Malaysian masses. Every crude oil producing countries allocate a percentage their production for domestic consumption and the balance for export to earn foreign exchange. What is this nett producer & nett exporter of crude oil talking of the oil subsidies??? Look at Brunei & Saudi Arabia and the many more crude oil exporting countries do, both and all are nett producers & nett exporters of crude oil, there are no changes in the prices at their pumps for both petrol and diesel despite the whopping Crude Oil prices now reaching US$139/- per barrel, they are all enjoying boom and boost to their State Coffers with the greatest windfall of all times with record foreign reserves’ balances and also a boost to their economies, so why are we seeing the reverse in Malaysia??? There is obviously mismanagement of the funds from the power that be. Where are the windfall profits for Petronas gone to from the nett exports before or after being handed over to the Government??? A royal commission should be formed to investigate where have all the profits/funds earned from the exports had gone to???
Remove this deadly cancerous orang minyak, throw out that rotten tyranny!!!
It is the right time that this grossly rotten, corrupt and incompetent flip flop tyranny called orang minyak that remove the hoax fuel subsidies & increase the electricity tariffs should also be removed… & to accomplish this, all & whoever, MPs from both BN or Pakatan Rakyat, it is your call now and as all the people of Malaysia are firmly behind you to remove this rot. Cannot imagine that a nett producer & nett exporter of Crude Oil has to do this, look at all the other crude oil nett exporters, there are no increases of prices of Petrol & Diesel at their pumps as both & all are nett producers and nett exporters of Crude Oil and they are now enjoying a boost to their state coffers & economies with a whopping windfall in oil prices of the current US$139/- per barrel that earned them huge foreign exchange reserves from their Crude Oil exports. But in Malaysia the reverse is true as there is no boost to the economy, but only sadness prevailed because the foreign exchange reserves from Crude Oil nett exports earned are poorly managed or badly mis-managed and no one knows where all the profits over the years had gone and we are saying a (large chunk of) the 700 or more Billions earned had disappeared and there is no accountability by the tyranny moron power that be. Otherwise we are having a boom time to our state coffers and a boost to our economy and we should be celebrating and why is that bloke orang minyak/moron is projecting gloom at this wonderful time. All the monies earned by Petronas must have been woefully squandered & cheated by the orang minyak moron or Petronas'President & CEO Datuk Hassan Marican must have badly mis-managed the windfall earnings by selling our Malaysian sweet crude forward at low prices and buying low grade crude oil at a hefty high prices for local cunsumption??? If that is the case all Malaysians including those unborn ones have been betrayed by this cancerous Orang Minyak/Moron who has caused all these serious crimes, anarchies, chaos and inflations beyond comprehensions owing to the greed by this cancerous corrupted power hungry Moron/Orang Minyak who intended to stick to power beyond his welcome!!!
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