I’m sure most of you have read at least a dozen posts on how horrible it is that we are having an unheard of 40% price hike in retailed gasoline, it is unfair, bad, horrible, (insert vulgarity), etc. Fortunately, this blog is going to be talking about the reverse, for I actually welcome the price adjustment (and the eventual removal of subsidy). No, I don’t work for the government nor do I profit from the price hike in any way.

putting petrol in car

I am sure everyone is aware of the high price of crude oil as of late. Around four years ago, it was US $40, most people in the oil and gas industry thought it was too high and would never sustain. However, the price today is upwards of US $120. We shouldn’t expect to still be paying the same as four years ago now should we?

But wait, Malaysia is a net exporter when it comes to crude oil, at least until 2011 (according to some estimates). So shouldn’t Petronas be footing (nevermind that Petronas isn’t the only oil producer in this country) the subsidy, and let citizens reap in the rewards of our good fortune?

To me, the answer is both yes, and no.

Yes, for every dollar crude price increases, our country actually make a net profit of many million ringgit, the government and the oil producers get richer. We as the rakyat of this country, should benefit accordingly, and I do believe in this.

On the flip side, the subsidy mechanism in modern economy is a very poor way of controlling inflation as all it is doing is masking the true cost, much like sweeping dirt under the carpet. Plus, there is this whole cost of managing the subsidy itself, and making sure foreigners do not benefit from this flawed system.

Very simply put, cost of item A is RM 2.00, you want to be paying only RM 1.00 and have the government subsidies the other RM 1.00. What happen is that at the end, if you look at the country and the population as a whole, we are still paying RM 2.00 in total. But the management of the whole subsidy scheme might add in another RM 0.20’s worth of administration cost, smugglers’ profits, and a whole lot of other management headache.

The eventual removal of subsidy is a good thing, it will free up a lot of money for the government. RM13.7bil as quoted from this article. What I don’t exactly agree is the usage of the money to pay for other forms of subsidies (in food and so on). You’re removing a flawed mechanism A (as argued by the government) and pumping in money to other equally flawed mechanisms. I don’t see it as a very wise choice in the long run.

The RM 625 rebate is a good start, and that is of course, one way of sharing the good fortune to the people. However, I don’t think it is enough. There are many other issues to look into: toll, the inflated car price, the silly taxi licensing system, the sorry state of our public transports… Issues that the money saved from subsidy and the windfall in extra oil money should solve.

The real issue is, of course, can the current government manage the money wisely? I don’t think the protest is necessary, in the long run, following the market price should be a good thing.

Oh, before I forget, revising the price monthly isn’t going to be a wise move either. I don’t want to go through the traffic jam like last night once every month.

KY – in Support of the Petrol Price Hike
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63 thoughts on “KY – in Support of the Petrol Price Hike

  • June 5, 2008 at 4:31 pm
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    Sure, it will free up the RM13.7bil for something else.
    But then hor, you forgot one MAIN thing. The BN government seem to LOVE frittering away any money they have on ridiculous things and schemes!

    So, saving the RM13.7bil is neither here nor there because they will DEFINITELY blow it all on some stupid thing like sending another monkey to play bakooli in space or something.

    Reply
  • June 5, 2008 at 4:31 pm
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    eh…see…don’t say I don’t leave comments…;P

    Reply
  • June 5, 2008 at 4:34 pm
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    wtfbbqsos..it’s ok if they dun subsidies but they only makan the money..that’s the heartache part..

    but actually i’m drafting a post regarding petrol too..hmmm..

    Reply
  • June 5, 2008 at 4:36 pm
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    I was stuck on the LDP for ONE HOUR yesterday !@@(!&*@#!!!!

    Reply
  • June 5, 2008 at 4:39 pm
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    Overall economy growth of Malaysia was 6.3% in 2007. Out of this 6.3%, more than 50% revenue is from Petronas. Since 1974, Malaysia is earning estimated RM2trillion. I agree one day the subsidy will eventually ends but are we ready for that? And why the BN promised no price hike b4 the GE12 and acted the opposite way? I am not angry because of the price, I am angry where the money goes to? Eventually the char siew, siew yok KY eats will increase in price too. Cheers!

    Reply
  • June 5, 2008 at 4:41 pm
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    they are incapable of handling the amount of money .

    Look at proton, we paid a price for it everyone does, even when you buy foreign car, the government impose taxes….to so called protect….more than 20 years already…and we are still selling the initial model of iswara until today, with little to no changes.

    Reply
  • June 5, 2008 at 4:45 pm
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    Freaking jam on Sprint Highway was damn freaking crazy.

    Anyway…. imagine, today price is RM2.70… in a month’s time.. it dropped to RM1.70… everybody happy, start stocking up petrol at home, then comes the following month … price shoot up again…. those that stock up the petrol can then sell it to any user who want to buy from them at the current month’s value…

    hmm… time to give the Petrol Station a run for their money…

    Reply
  • June 5, 2008 at 4:46 pm
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    Foong,
    Hehe, we shall see how the government do this time. This is one of their last chances, I believe.

    Yatz,
    That’s not a subsidy problem, but the administrative, right?

    Kuzco,
    Hahaha same here.

    Mikemmery,
    The promise was stupid and yes, the management of the money is the problem. When are we ready for market price? It’s gonna be painful whenever we do it, why not now?

    Rice Blogger,
    I agree that the confidence place on our government is very low now, but hopefully there are some capable people around. By the way, government protection for local cars has been removed already.

    Michael,
    Start being a petrol speculator? That is actually the root of the whole petrol price problem, futures trading. If I understand it correctly. 🙂

    Reply
  • June 5, 2008 at 5:26 pm
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    Malaysia Boleh! Minyak Naik Boleh! Rasuah Boleh! Abdullah Boleh!

    Reply
  • June 5, 2008 at 5:28 pm
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    “i disagree with what you said, but i will defend to my death your right to say it.” -voltaire

    the gov is a mess and the country is in a mess.

    Reply
  • June 5, 2008 at 5:29 pm
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    a very good view on the whole mechanism.. I would agree but still people are feeling the pinch.. and I pity very much the lower income group…

    Reply
  • June 5, 2008 at 5:32 pm
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    wll,
    Many can certainly share your frustration. 🙂

    YilingL,
    Hahaha, good quote. 😀

    tom,
    The very low income group aren’t actually affected as much as the middle income imho. Not that I am saying lower income group has a better life.

    Reply
  • Pingback:Petrol price hike, what others are saying | Malaysia Social Politics | YeinJee

  • June 5, 2008 at 5:40 pm
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    I certainly hope that the low income and hard core poor Malaysians will be as understanding as you are!

    Anyway, I also agree that subsidy is bad for the long term. However, we Malaysian are getting a raw deal. Singapore, a country without natural resources pay near market price petrol yet has much lower income tax and have much better returns for CPF. On top of that the government is damn rich with no debt.

    Whereas, in Malaysia we have RM70 billion from Petronas, lucrative taxes from palm oil companies, other natural resources such as rubber and tin, etc. Yet we are stuck with a poor education system, second rate medical care, safety and security issues, many forms of indirect taxes, etc. Against such backdrop, the increase of petrol prices is damn difficult to swallow.

    Reply
  • June 5, 2008 at 5:44 pm
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    ronin,
    Yes, I agree with many of your points. We can always compare our country to Singapore all day long but it still doesn’t make the island state a better country to live in as far as I’m concerned.

    There are many ways to improve our situation and I think this is, in the long run, a positive measure. I don’t really agree with the way it is carried out though.

    Reply
  • June 5, 2008 at 5:52 pm
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    Ky,

    I totally agree with your view on the hike in petrol price. I do not know whether you all remember, when government hike the petrol 10 or 20 or 30 cent, the food price will also hike 50 cent and drink will hike from 10 to 30 cent each time there is a hike in petrol price. If the govenment hike the petrol to market price, the hawker can not hike their food or drink by RM1. The most they can do is 50 cent. I think one shot hike is the best solution. Even thought we are net exporter but the petroluem in malaysia will soon dry off. So better to get use now then later. 🙂

    Reply
  • June 5, 2008 at 5:58 pm
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    terlalu banyak post ttg petrol… finally one who agrees!!! anyhow, i’ll jz keep my thoughts in my heart.. hahahaha wont post bout it.. lets hope everything will go better..

    Reply
  • June 5, 2008 at 6:13 pm
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    power8003,
    You have a point too I guess. In a way the hawkers are working in a pretty free market. They can hike whatever they want but if it is too much customers won’t take it.
    Petroleum in Malaysia will eventually run out, but it wouldn’t be so soon.

    joshuaongys,
    Hahaha, why the secrecy? 😀

    Reply
  • June 5, 2008 at 6:20 pm
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    Everyone needs to learn how to cook and eat at home or bring lunchboxes!

    Boycott the food stalls and places that hikes their stuff unnecessarily.

    No need to waste over 10 bux for dumb set lunches in dining places, no more chillies restaurant, no more starbucks, we don’t need them.

    Btw, you sound like someone who works for the oil and gas industry… Hmmmmmmmmm…

    Petronas?

    Reply
  • June 5, 2008 at 6:38 pm
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    Actually the profits that Petronas makes, RM2 million can be given to every citizen in malaysia! But not only we are not getting the RM2 million each, we have to accept the price increase. I am not angry at price increase, I am angry who took away the profits! Govt must stop funding cosmetic projects!!!

    Reply
  • June 5, 2008 at 7:34 pm
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    Increase the basic wage and better the public transport. Period.

    Reply
  • June 5, 2008 at 7:40 pm
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    I tot got what celebration. Totally forgot about the price hike. My place only got that terrible jam on xmas eve and new year eve cuz people hang out there to cheer and wait for count down.

    Reply
  • June 5, 2008 at 7:46 pm
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    Well, i agree with your points as it would be valid in a free market economy. However, consider the following points:

    Pricing of cars are artificially inflated by the government.

    We do not have an efficient form of public transportation.

    These two points distinguishes us from a developed nation.

    Sure, other developed nations charges petrol at market rates as per a free market economy. They would also let the pricing of cars roam free in a free market economy (i.e no protectionism by tariffs and taxes on cars).

    In addition, public transportation are viable alternatives for citizens of developed nations as their system is efficient and are priced accordingly. In contrast, although the pricing of public transport is rather reasonable in my opinion (except maybe for overcharged taxi rides), it is not efficient enough.

    Reply
  • Pingback:Crazy Effect « BJ Thoughts…

  • June 5, 2008 at 8:29 pm
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    i believe the subsidy should be continued. since MALAYSIA, an oil producing country, should be blooming right now with the price increase and all. It only make sense that they use the profit from the increase to subsidize the petrol price in return. Dont they know that hike in petrol price will cause inflation tsunami?
    Now that the petrol price increased, soon everything in malaysia will be more expansive than ever.

    Reply
  • June 5, 2008 at 8:44 pm
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    ShadowFox,
    I used to work in a company that has extensive business with oil and gas industry.

    eiling,
    I agree with you in principle. 🙂

    hehehaha,
    That would be very welcoming, wouldn’t it?

    Ping Ping,
    Hahaha, ignorance is bliss sometimes.

    2centsworth,
    I agree with you on these points, it will the task of the current administration to make sure we correct these shortcomings.

    radical85,
    Blooming, yes, but I do not subscribe that subsidy is a good mechanism to address the issue.

    Reply
  • June 5, 2008 at 11:01 pm
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    for every rational KY out there, there are a hundred clueless idiots who burn more petrol queuing up for hours just to pump petrol before the hike. Sheesh.

    Reply
  • June 5, 2008 at 11:09 pm
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    the protection on govt cars is so called removed…but the incur a special tax…we are still not paying the car price at thailand or indonesia

    Reply
  • June 5, 2008 at 11:13 pm
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    I agree with what you say..My idea is simp,e nationalize petronas..Make it a goverment owned body and keep providing reasonably priced petrol and sell the rest…

    what use is a goverment is the people suffer

    And the most important thing is syop futures trading of food n petrol..Thats the culprit..the speculators have made our lives a living hell!!

    Reply
  • June 6, 2008 at 12:39 am
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    My friend,

    I respect your views on the price hike.

    First of all, I don’t think I can trust this BN government (don’t mean that I support PR). First of all, I am not sure if we REALLY do save RM13.7Bn as reported by the Star. One minister said that the subsidy this year is Rm28Bn and another said it is RM56Bn.

    To me, we can save RM100Bn for the government. But what do they do with this saving is another matter? Will it go to the pockets of the politicians or into some dubious projects? We have no say and we can’t know. Just look at the billions lost in the Port Klang’s project? God knows what happened over there.

    By the way, just want to correct you on one thing. All the petrol produced in Malaysia are 100% fully owned by the government. Read what DR M has to say on this.

    http://www.chedet.com/2008/06/oil-price.html

    One is for sure, yesterday we were paying 1.92 for a litter. Today, we are paying 41% more. And prices of many other essential goods will go up for sure. But, we can’t be sure that the savings of RM13.7Bn or whatever amount will be used wisely. The last time they raised prices, they said that they will use the savings to improve public transport. You can ask any Tom, Dick or Harry, everyone can tell you that our public transports have not improved, some might argue that it has gotten worse.

    In an well organized and controlled economy like Singapore, we can have faith that subsidies are not good. But Msian government is far far away from what we call organized or controlled….

    Reply
  • June 6, 2008 at 12:52 am
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    eyeris,
    And I was stuck in the jam for more than an hour for a usually 10 minute journey.

    Rice Blogger,
    I agree, I believe car price should come down but perhaps that should be done in stages to avoid massive devaluation of 2nd hand car price.

    falcon,
    Petronas IS owned by the government, and hence people. However, we cannot demand Petronas to simply provide cheap fuel for the rakyat as it will put the company in a very disadvantageous position in the global market.
    As for futures trading, unfortunately that occurs in the global market and out of our control.

    Consultant,
    You are only partially right that petrol produced are 100% owned by the government. There is this little thing called PSC (production sharing contract) with various producers, and Carigali only being one of them.
    The tricky part, of course, is how the savings are going to be spent. I am trying to be hopeful here. 🙂

    Reply
  • June 6, 2008 at 2:39 am
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    ya, i think removal of subsidy for petrol is a good thing. Let free market place the price of the petrol, we might get more frebies from petrol station to attract customer if it’s a free market.

    This way, more ppl will start to look at public transport, walk more or use alternative transport like bicyle to save cost. But the government have to used the money saved to upgrade our public transport. If not, it’s still the same shit.

    Reply
  • June 6, 2008 at 9:53 am
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    Our beloved government is only good at one thing: always doing the wrong things and the wrong time.

    I know its painful(trust me, it hurts like a mofo)to see fuel prices leaping, but protesting on the streets and screaming at the government won’t change the price of crude. The gov have FINALLY realized that they aren’t actually masters of the universe and can control global prices of commodities. It’s actually a good idea to start scraping all these subsidies and learn to grow up, Malaysia.

    Reply
  • June 6, 2008 at 10:12 am
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    U have ur points….. i dun mind paying 2.70 but the govern should seriously think about revising the car tax…. the tax is way too much… the govern alwz compare the petrol price with other countries but they pretend to be blind when it comes to car prices…..

    Reply
  • June 6, 2008 at 10:23 am
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    KY, i think u should stfu man, your logic only applies to countries abroad. The flers that manages here siphons money off like sipping their teh tariks. And u dare open ur traphole and say u welcome the move?! oh come on! get real man.

    Reply
  • June 6, 2008 at 11:14 am
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    I respect your point of view.

    But as a middle class person we are really feeling the pinch of the petrol price increased. It’s not only the fuel even the price of the new houses have gone up because of this.

    Yesterday I went to see a show house and the price for the house I was looking at was 162K before and shoot up to 170K yesterday morning. Just imagine in 10 years to come.

    As the price of fuel goes up, the employer has to increase our pays too or else it’s not going to us help much in any ways.

    By the way I received a calculation on the petrol price with the rebate, could you give me your comment on this. I would like to know how far it is true.

    Rebate / year 625

    Rebate / month 52.08
    ________________________________________________

    Your 1 month average usage in the past 128.2
    (66.77 liter pumped)
    ________________________________________________

    Your 1 month average NEW price 180.28
    (66.77 liter pumped)

    Difference 52.08
    ________________________________________________

    1 month different 52.08

    1 month rebate 52.08

    “1 month, you spend extra (RM)” 0
    (comparing past RM1.92 with present RM2.70)
    ________________________________________________

    1 year 624.96

    1 year rebate 625
    “1 year, you spend extra (RM)” -0.04
    (comparing past RM1.92 with present RM2.70)
    ________________________________________________

    If your average fuel consumption is more than RM128.2 per month

    You will be paying more even with the rebate or RM625 per year

    “* calculation only works for those driving vehicle below 2000cc,”

    Reply
  • June 6, 2008 at 11:19 am
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    Simon Seow,
    Lets hope so.

    Z,
    I agreed, the demonstrations weren’t going to change anything.

    Dolanmin,
    Agreed, the stupid excise tax should be reduced in stages (to avoid sudden crash of 2nd hand car price)

    myba7p,
    Mentality like this is exactly what we don’t need. Undoubtedly the government has a lot of room for improvement, but thinking this can only apply to foreign countries won’t get us anywhere.

    martika,
    Few of us uses less than RM 128’s worth of petrol (old price), and yes, middle class are again feeling the pinch, we’re in the same group. What I’m trying to say that in the long run, this is a good thing if managed properly. 🙂

    Reply
  • June 6, 2008 at 12:29 pm
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    Dude,

    Maybe the subsidy idea was good during then, but the current situation has changed. We can’t hide behind the fact that the oil prices has gone way up.

    My concern is the ripple effect, where history has proven time over time especially in Malaysia. The sellers or service providers will most often jump at the opportunity to raise prices, and we consumers will take a big hit this time around.

    Reducing a couple of hundred on the road tax will not make up for the difference that we will have to pay at the pump. And most of us do not make enough to live comfortably in KL.

    So what then? Change our lifestyles? That is why come November—-OBAMA for President!

    Reply
  • June 6, 2008 at 1:20 pm
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    well KY, then u should stand in one corner and not join those buggers in M’sia who acts like we are a ‘developed’ country. my point is if youre not there yet then u aint there yet. like the malay proverb, dont be a ‘tin kosong’

    Reply
  • June 6, 2008 at 2:07 pm
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    Edmund,
    The RM 625 isn’t much, and worse still we only get it probably end of the year or next year. I’m not sure how much Obama can help though, hahaha.

    myba7p,
    I’m not pretending we’re a developed country (although you can argue what that mean these days), but we are trying very hard to get there. This is a step to the right direction IMHO. 🙂

    Reply
  • June 6, 2008 at 5:23 pm
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    i would say i agree with the price increase, but not the way it is done. we are now using petroleum money to patch up holes in our economy. what happens when our oil runs out? are we prepared for it?

    what pisses me off is the fact that we are arguing how the money should be divided between the races, instead of using the money to increase our income from other fields.

    and i hate it when the abdullah’s government lied. 1st lie was about the date to dissolve the parliament. 2nd was the date of this price hike. why can’t they keep the mouth shut and announce when it is ready? they HAD to give a false date to mislead us. grrr…

    Reply
  • June 6, 2008 at 7:42 pm
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    wait till all things go sky high bro . . . .and tunggu sampe lu ada bb . . .hehehehe. . then u will feel the pinch

    Reply
  • June 7, 2008 at 12:53 am
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    Now let us compare the price with OIL PRODUCING countries

    UAE– RM1.19/litre
    Eygpt– RM1.03/litre
    Bahrain– RM0.87/litre
    Qatar– RM0.68/litre
    Kuwait– RM0.67/litre
    Saudi Arabia– RM0.38/litre
    Iran– RM0.35/litre
    Nigeria– RM0.32/litre
    Turkmenistan– RM0.25/litre
    Venezuela– RM0.16/litreMALAYSIA– RM2.70/litre

    Reply
  • June 7, 2008 at 4:55 am
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    howzan,
    Races? I don’t think they are talking about races in this unless some news escaped me. 🙂

    steph k,
    One of who? @.@

    iewann,
    That list undoubtedly is correct, but what does it prove? Are these countries under much better condition than ours considering overall livelihood of their citizen? Or are we looking only at fuel price and nothing else?
    I wouldn’t want to live in Iran.

    Reply
  • June 7, 2008 at 1:11 pm
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    wah.. u say like that i don’t wan come find u for food~jor.. ahahahaa…

    Reply
  • June 8, 2008 at 1:53 pm
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    just like to c the comments here…informative!

    btw, i support the price hike but i DISLIKE that our PM announce it out of sudden only.

    never keep to his words…everyone thought the new fuel price will be effective bout month of August only.

    Reply
  • June 8, 2008 at 9:23 pm
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    There’s a good side, and a bad side to this.

    Our petrol is considerably cheaper compared to the other countries, and cases of smuggling have been happening quite often. By increasing the price we do avoid those ppl smuggling if the price isn’t much difference compared to the outside world.

    The bad side is however, inflation. Everything’s gone up, with lower income groups suffering the most. I do wonder which side u are from, though that would be a low blow, but things aren’t cheap already, it won’t be with this one, and the government’s lift of ceiling prices.

    Honestly, even having me studying in overseas have been told about the pinch my parents are feeling back here…and having the government call the bluff with prices and raising it abruptly is really awful. AAB did this during the elections, not a surrpise he did this. I still wonder how the heck he got back in the PM seat. Are people blind to such idiocy and the suffering bought to us these four years?

    KY, u sure are patient. I’ve been hoping since the time he was called Mr “Clean” and being some kind of saviour. But those 4 years he’s done nothing but killing whatever progress we have had before. I really feel ashamed with him as my PM. Our country is going nowhere but to the dogs. We were a place with 1st world facilities and 3rd world mentality, now, we are 3rd world in both facilities and mentality.

    Having posts like these really incense me:
    http://www.malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/8209/84/
    I don’t agree totally with what u say KY, but i respect your views.

    Reply
  • June 8, 2008 at 9:44 pm
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    hey man. is this the most serious post ever in ur blog? i was thinking have i logged in to raja petra’s

    my vios cost me 97.5 ringgit today..

    tew na xing….

    Reply
  • June 9, 2008 at 9:08 am
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    are u from khazanah, carigali or petronas? hmm….but one thing for sure, do more research on everything before starting to do a hardcore comment. as u can see, we can save a lot of not for those first world projects but third world planning. we lost billions which could be used for subsidies.

    we can see tat gasoline prices affected us direct or indirectly. we need food, food is transported by trucks and truck need petrol. so it’s a domino’s effect which in fact, the one who suffers most is us.

    btw, saw ur blog, u work in klcc n u did some offshore training. guess tat u work for one those gas/oil companies in klcc. and at the same time, i suspect tat u dont drive like i did every to work, so tats y u can talk ‘big’. but it is understandable, never bites the hand tat feeds you……it was weird tat someone could think tat ‘rational’.

    think before u talk……pls and btw, ur food review……honestly, it sucks. some of the restaurant food was bad/expensive but on ur review was so good. damn…….do u even know how to eat?!

    Reply
  • June 9, 2008 at 10:52 am
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    u seem educated. but what a pity to have an ignorant malaysian like you.

    Reply
  • June 9, 2008 at 10:53 am
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    wah a lot of hardcore comment, but i just comment for the sake of commenting because got a lot of comments here wheee 😛

    Reply
  • June 9, 2008 at 12:12 pm
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    OMG. KY you are my hero. I was tempted to write something similar to slaughter all them idiots who try and maintain that the removal of the subsidy is a bad thing bla bla bla bla, but due to exams I could not find enough time to write a coherent yet insightful article as to why this subsidy HAD TO BE REMOVED.

    And to all you fucking morons out there. Just suck a dick. You can’t stop the rise of oil prices. It’s inevitable that the subsidies have to be removed. The world consumption has increased, supply isn’t increasing to match it. There’s a lot of pressure on foreign economies to remove THEIR subsidies on oil also, for example India, China and Japan.

    Now stop slaughtering KY and just shut the fuck up. Seriously. I can’t believe there are idiots like you wasting my precious oxygen in the world.

    KY for Minister of Trade!

    – zomfgwtfbbq.

    Reply
  • June 9, 2008 at 2:33 pm
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    andrew,
    Hie and nice to meet you too! 🙂

    vialentino,
    I agree, many of us are tired of the false promises.

    takemoto,
    I didn’t state that I support “Mr. Clean”, I was only commenting on the price increase. 🙂

    aeroplane1234,
    You get to claim, don’t you? 😛

    unknown,
    I don’t work for an oil and gas company, and yes I drive to work everyday. Your assumption is incorrect. By the way, subsidy doesn’t really have much to do with the oil and gas companies’ balance book.
    On the food part, we can have different taste as well. I’d have more respect if you’re not anonymous and be more specific.

    jason,
    Ignorance or understanding? Smart or cynic? Very fine line.

    chris tock,
    London treating you well? Tapao duck rice for me!

    Reply
  • June 9, 2008 at 3:03 pm
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    zomfgwtfbbq,
    Your comment was actually found in the spam queue. 😀

    Reply
  • June 9, 2008 at 7:00 pm
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    zomfgwtfbbq

    Looks like u’re sucking KY’s d*** now.

    Now if you’re upset of wasting precious oxygen with people, why don’t u go get a whiff of some petrol fumes? Or even cigar smoke or fart that comes out of your silly umnoputra friends?

    Petrol isn’t the main issue here, it’s the inflation that comes with it. Would you want a situation where things inflate to such an extent where a bread would cost as much as a piece of steak?

    There are other ways to solve it. Even TDM ignored the international idea to take loans and pegged the ringgit, stemmed money flowing outwards during the economy crisis in 97/98. Those ministers should have enough think tanks there to think of something else than just removing subsidies. That’s just a weak excuse to cut down expenditure when all the money saved is spent somewhere we wouldn’t know.

    KY, well, AAB is the head of the government rite? He represents them, if you want to give them hope, you’d be giving it to him rite?

    Reply
  • June 9, 2008 at 7:35 pm
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    takemoto,
    Inflation issues will be paramount, I agree, but I think the bread costing as much as a steak is a bit of an over statement.
    AAB is the head of the government NOW, but I not think he will continue to be for any length of time. I am remaining hopeful. 🙂

    Reply
  • June 9, 2008 at 9:23 pm
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    Wow, all of a sudden I’m an umno member. I guess they do allow chiense to be come umno members. =/ Some people really need to wake up and smell the roses. oil prices will never in hell go down unless you kill 1/2 the world population and take out 85% of the motor vehicles and shut down all the oil power plants in the world. (Mind you kids this is all sarcasm.)

    Inflation is a strange phenomenon, and I take pride in learning about inflation as an economics undergrad as well as the general health of economies around the world and such.

    We are all seeing short term shocks to the system right now. People are panicking like chooks with their heads cut off. But people will adjust to this effect in the long run. The G8 can do nothing at this point and they are acknowledging their economies are headed to the shits. Economic growth we have experienced in the last 50 years is a thing of the past. To constantly grow at 2- 3% steadily for a lot of economies where economies of scale has been pretty much maximised is already gone.

    The oversupply of money has fuelled this inflation. Not Badawi. Now people, if you guys can just calm down and actually look at the big picture, we are hopefully just in it for the short run. We are a growing country unlike other countries with huge growth potential.

    I can go on further, however what’s the point. I should start writing a paper on Malaysia and growth and what not. blah

    -zomfgwtfbbq.

    Reply
  • June 9, 2008 at 9:32 pm
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    Oh with regards to taking loans. I tell you what mate, with regards to taking loans from the IMF and be the United States of America’s bitch to be jerked around, I don’t think that would be a good move on the part of the prime minister.

    If those are the kind of loans you want, then I don’t think we see eye to eye. The Americans laucnh a country into debt by selling the ‘target’ country ‘American technology and expertese’ and forcing the ‘target’ countries to take out ‘American’ loans to pay for these ‘services’ with absurd conditions like high interest rates and what not which in turn causes the country to be submissive to the Americans? I think not. You want proof? Go look at philippines and indonesia.

    Nice loans huh. =/

    Reply
  • June 9, 2008 at 11:35 pm
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    I didn’t say that move was bad, it was something that worked eventually, in the face of so many dissent and not even DSAI had thought it wou;d’ve work. I just merely said that taking the subsidies out and raising prices by 70 cents abruptly is going to hit lower-income groups hard. Even my sister who earn less than 2k in KL is going to have a hard time coz she needs to drive to work, and there’s no public transport near her area. What do you expect her to do? Walk there? There should be another way to deal with this matter.

    I agree prices won’t go down any time soon, but this is a good sign that we are relying too much on this exhaustable resource, and we should start looking for alternatives. Where’s the biofuel that was promoted by the government? Surely that would be a good way to start? Research on alternative energy should be a priority for long term,and not just think about holding on to things that quite freankly would end up soonr or later. By that time, petroleum is going to be exhausted, then what? All the money in the world can’t even move your Merc. We should start relying less on it.

    Maybe whatever i wrote just now befuddled your mind, but i agree that prices will go up, but raising prices is something the government can control, with consideration dealt to the public, abrupt changes will hit hard on the poor, cause inflation, and dishing rebates won’t be a long-term solution.

    I blame the PM because he has shown weakness in administration and showing poor leadership skills, a leader should be respected, revered and loved, not one who sleeps, becoming a butt of all jokes or a puppet to 4th floor boys. I cannot think of a single thing to commend about him at all. With him, all the potential we have would be had.

    You’re obviously very well read, but your mannerisms goes the other way. Everyone is entitled to their views, i’m just saying mine.

    Reply
  • June 9, 2008 at 11:41 pm
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    zomfgwtfbbq,
    I take it that you might have read “Confessions of an economic hit man” too? 😀

    takemoto,
    Very well written. And I do agree that the management of the price hike is poor, but in principle the price hike is a good thing.

    Reply

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