Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced a new fuel price which will be effective on Saturday (August 23).
RON97 petrol will be reduced by 15 sen to RM2.55, RON92 by 22 sen to RM2.40, while diesel reduced by eight sen to RM2.50 (per litre).
Read more on Bernama and Malaysiakini.
Selangor consumers will get their 20 cubic metres of free water from this month as the stalemate in the deal has been resolved… with the state government agreeing to compensate up to RM11 million monthly to Syabas through the state investment arm Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Bhd (KDEB). [Bernama]
When the plan was first announced in March, MB Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has said that the free water policy is implemented by reducing the cost per unit of usage and the state government (and the taxpayers) need not pay subsidies to Syabas… looks like Pak Lah is not the only one that is good at flip-flopping.
Well, Selangor folks would not need to pay the water bill from their own pocket, but is the water really free? Those money are coming from the state government after all… money that can be spent on improving infrastructures, productivity and quality of living in other ways which in the end will benefit the people in long term.
Is this the right thing for the Selangor government to do? I am not sure. I don’t like the concept of subsidies (of any kind) at the first place… Malaysians have been pampered for way too long with the subsidies, so long that some of us have been taken it for granted and lost the sense of competitiveness.
Update June 19 - the water is not really free, seriously. Consumers will still have to pay a RM6 minimal (service) charge to Syabas.
What would you do with the petrol subsidy if you are the Prime Minister?
Would you choose to save billions of dollars from the subsidy to improve infrastructures (schools, hospitals, public transports etc.) or to continously using it to make Malaysians happy?
Ask me anytime, and I will tell you that we should abolish the subsidy system completely… probably not in one shot, but definitely in near future. The money could be better spent elsewhere than to pamper Malaysians with cheap petrol.
The problem with our government is always on how they would spend those extra moneys… the wastage and corruption have given them some bad reputation in recent years; and it’s understandable that lots of Malaysians no longer have faith with them.
But let’s say Anwar has took over the government, and let’s assume he is an absolutely clean and capable politician… do you think he should abolish the subsidy and use the money to build something else, or to reduce the petrol price instead?
So, same question to Anwar too, who constantly promised to reduce the petrol price. Does he believe that it’s the right thing to do to reduce the petrol price, or is it just a gimmick to gain popularity so that he can become the Prime Minister? Would he not prefer to use those money to build the future instead?
Politicians are never clean… an absolute honest man can never be a politician.
Sharing a few stories…
The hawker: Cash strapped, TV, handphone
I have a friend that always complained on how tough life is, and how difficult it is to make ends meet. He is a hawker, his wife the helper, and has three kids.
Some hawkers are rich, but he is not… I am not really sure why. A couple of years ago, his eldest son finished Form Five, came out to work, got his first pay… and the first thing they did was spending most (if not all) of the salary to buy a new TV.
My friend is still crying on how tough life is… but he got a new company now, with his dear son complaining just about the same thing.
Last I checked, the son use a handphone that is five times more expensive than mine.
Some thoughts from other bloggers (and their readers) about the latest petrol price hike on June 5…
Kean Jin ll Undebug ll Paul Tan ll Fireangel ll Lobaksoup ll Lucia Lai ll Emily ll Beng ll Stocktube ll Foongpc ll Messyc ll Cyberpartygal ll Silflay ll Jeff Ooi ll Galvin ll Hanief ll Eddie Law ll Rocky ll Kenneth Lee ll SK Thew ll Audie ll Kuan Chong ll Malaysiacity ll Mindspring ll Zubli ll Susan Loone ll Anwar Ibrahim ll Eli Wong ll Damien Tan ll Crankshaft ll Kit Siang ll KY ll BJ
Comment is closed here, please share your thoughts at the previous post instead.
Petrol price is hiking up 78 cents to RM2.70 per litre by Wednesday midnight, while the diesel is going up RM1 to RM2.58. Seems like it’s worth being kiasu after all.
With the continous record breaking rise of crude oil price, our price hike seems inevitable. It’s a logical decision for the government to cut the subsidy… the only question that always puzzle me is how they are going to spend the extra money saved from the reduced subsidy.
So far I haven’t heard anything to improve our public transportation system, or to find alternative ways to reduce petrol consumptions in the country… nobody really knows where the money saved from the previous price hike had been used.
The petrol stations’ business is extra-good these two days with rumours flying around that the fuel prices will increase today (or tomorrow).
The phenomenon showed two things…
1. Some Malaysians are kiasu
2. Some Malaysians believe in rumours rather easily
Are you one of those kiasu Malaysians that love to believe in rumours?
Update - The rumours turn out to be true this time… fuel price going up 40%.
Petrol stations located in border states will be barred from selling petrol and diesel to foreign-registered cars starting Friday (May 30). [Thestar]
Update - the plan has been postphoned. The northern border will start the ban on June 2 while southern border on June 9.
Update June 5 - the ban has been lifted following the new petrol scheme.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Samad said the move is aimed at plugging loopholes in the current subsidy system; but the move is temporary until the ministry could come up with better management of the subsidy system.