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.

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.

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.

Good girl buys Prada

I have a friend, who saved on everything she could, so that she could spend on the latest (and expensive) fashion merchandises… Prada, Gucci, LV, whatever.

She often eats instant noodles for dinner, always complaining money not enough, and probably has three credit cards which she’s indebted with. A sweet and lovely girl though.

The student: PTPTN, laptop, iPod

A distant cousin, second year in college now. Complaining that PTPTN loan not enough, hating his parents for giving him little pocket money.

Have a laptop, an iPod, and never bothered to find a part time job while crying out that he doesn’t have enough money to party with his friends at night.

The smokers

A mamak chat with a few friends after a fuel price hike last year. They smoked a lot, and complained about the price hike. Asked if they would consider quitting (or reducing) smoking… all said no, one said… “tak rokok tak macam jantan lah.”

I wonder if they would have second thoughts after the recent petrol hike. I don’t smoke btw.

The rich and famous

A beautiful friend, cursing the government for the fuel hike… she drives an Audi, and her body smells like Whisky, probably because of some late night drinking.

I told her… “so, drink a bit little lor.” She answered… “#$!@%$, why do I have to change my lifestyle because of the stupid gaman? Pak Lah is $@%! @$% #%! @$%!$@%”

My concern

An ex-colleague, work in a factory, basic pay less than RM1000 (probably a few extra hundreds with OT). Only 26 or 27 of age, has four kids. His wife not working, has to take care of the kids.

He rides a motorbike. I saw him hiding a few packed chocolates in his pocket during a company dinner years ago, wanted to bring back to his kids. A humble guy, probably a good father.

Life is about options

Some people don’t have much options, but for lots of the Malaysians… life is a matter of preferences, and the choices are in your own hands.

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Comment is closed here, please share your thoughts at the previous post instead.

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 government is supposed to announce some measurements along with the price hike today… will have to read the papers later tonight to see what is happening.

On the other hand, 78 cents hike should be a shocker for most Malaysians… it’s by far the biggest margin we have ever had. The extra fuel cost doesn’t concern me much; what worries me is if the government could control the side effect of the fuel hike… as other products and services would be calling for price hike as well.

Update – shoot, electricity rates going up as well, 18% for homes and 26% for business users from July onwards. This increment could cause more damage than the fuel hike actually; we can try to save on fuel… but we don’t have much option with electricity.

The government also announced a new rebate system for vehicles of different classes as well as a reduction on road tax [details at Bernama and Thestar] which actually opens more rooms for debates of unfairness…

Since that I am working from home, I need to drive less often… but hey, I am getting the same rebate for my car like other car owners. Also, I have a motorbike at home that I rarely used, but heck… I am going to get RM150 rebate regardless; how odd is that?

The rebate is probably aimed to curb the foreign vehicles issue, but the government could be overlooking it by creating more confusions and controversies domestically.

[Official media statement from the PMO about the subsidy restructuring]

Update June 11 – The government has announced that the prices of petrol and diesel will not be raised any more in 2008 even if the global oil price reaches US$200 a barrel. [Bernama]

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%.

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.

The ban will involve between 200 and 300 petrol stations, and extends up to 50 kilometres from the borders in Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, Perak and Johor. Currently, petrol stations are not allowed to sell more then 20 litres of petrol to foreign vehicles.

A Singaporean friend was telling me that Malaysia is coming out with this rule to revenge the lost of Batu Puteh. It was just a joke, but it makes me wonder if there are any Singaporeans who actually thought about that and took it seriously.

The decision is set to raise some controversies. While it might help curbing the issue directly, it would lead to other matters like tourism and foreign relations. It’s easy to count the amount of subsidy saved from the new rule, but the intangible losses might be larger than what we would gain.

Actually, the logical way to coup with the issue is to reduce our petrol subsidy and increase our fuel price. The subsidies money could be better spent to improve our infrastructures and public transports, which in long term is the only way to reduce the mass consumption of petrol in our country.

The problem is whether the extra money saved from reducing the subsidy would be well spent and not wasted… we have seen too much mismanagement of public funds over the years that we have generally lost faith with our government obviously.

The snowball effect on other consumer goods will also be a concern, but it could be controlled with proper monitoring and management.

Reducing the subsidy is the only way to go… Malaysians have been pampered all these years; it’s time to have some reality check. Besides, the rich people are the ones that benefited most from the fuel subsidies anyway… it is not helping as much for the poor.

Those whose supply is linked to bulk meters – including flat, apartment and condominium dwellers – will not enjoy the free water just yet. [Thestar]

The state government and the water distribution concessionaire Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) are working on replacing the bulk meters (with individual meters)… but seems like it might take a while because of some complications.

Frankly, I would rather have cleaner water than free water… the water quality in Klang Valley has been pathetic in recent years. Set that aside, the free water should be welcome news for the lower income group.

I know there are arguments that the move might be unwise because it would encourage wastage, and that the rich would benefit from the policy. Thing is, if the poor could benefit from the free waters… it serves no harm for the rich and middle levels to enjoy the benefits as well isn’t it?

Besides, contrary to the subsidised petroleum and goods, the free water policy is implemented by reducing the cost per unit of usage… the state government (and the taxpayers) need not pay subsidies to Syabas. [Thestar] The only possible loser here is Syabas and its shareholders.

As of water wastage… it happens regardless of whether the water is free or not. People are wasting water because it’s cheap; a household of 4 would rarely used more than RM20 of water… those who would misuse the free water are probably wasting it right now, as RM20 doesn’t matter much to these people.

The challenge here is educating people to appreciate our water resources, be it free or not. It’s a matter of morals and social responsibility, which is another long story. At the meantime, appreciate the new policy, Selangor folks.

From next week, a customer will only be able to purchase a maximum of 5kg of cooking oil at any one time. Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shafie Apdal in making the announcement on the rationing of cooking oil today, said it was necessary in facing the cooking oil shortage crisis in the country. [Bernama]

Didn’t see this coming at all… cooking oil has been in abundance at the hypermarkets I frequent (in PJ/KL). It’s reported that Kelantan, Pahang, Melaka and Kedah were worst hit by the crisis and major supermarkets there were facing difficulty in replenishing the stocks.

Shafie has advised consumers not to panic as it would only worsen the situation. The irony is, the rationing exercise is certainly going to worsen the situation in short term… my first thought when reading the news was “better go and buy some oil ASAP.” I bet I am not the only one who is thinking about this… it’s not panicking; it’s just being a human.

Malaysia is not facing bankruptcy danger even if we keep the price level… what Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak claimed prior to the New Year Day was obviously to demean the opposition parties instead of solid economic facts. Najib said that the opposition’s promises to reduce oil prices if it were to form a government will only bankrupt the country, because it’s not possible…

It doesn’t take a genius to realise that the government controlled Petronas would be making extra money following the rising oil price as well… the government is probably not losing too much with the subsidies compared to a few years ago (if there is any loses at all).

Khairy Jamaluddin was right though when he said on Umno’s General Assembly in Nov 2007 that the petrol subsidy could be better spent on other developments. My point of view is still the same… that it would be a wise move to cut the petrol subsidy ONLY IF the money are spent at the right place (education, health care etc.) and not going to dubious projects like Angkasawan or buying a new submarine… or perhaps the worst – to waste and corruption.

Considering that Malaysia won’t be having much petroleum resources left (probably finished in a decade or two without new findings)… our government need to be proactive in finding new energy resources (bio-diesel, solar power etc.) and reducing petroleum consumption. We need a better public transport system to start with; it’s a pain to travel in Malaysia without a car.

At the meantime, we the common citizens just have to be prepared for the next price hike.

“Why should we give subsidised petrol to the already rich, who drive luxurious cars with high capacity engines? It should be meant only for the man riding a kapcai (low-cc motorcycle).”

He added that billions of ringgit could be saved and the money used instead to develop village roads, build more public infrastructure and construct schools.

His statement is half true. Malaysians have been pampered with all kind of subsidies all these years… perhaps it’s time to let the petrol price roamed freely and save the money for other benefits, to help the poor for example.

I would applaud if the billions Ringgit saved could be used to develop our villages… but I am afraid that we might use it for something else… paying for a crook bridge (that was never built), spending on new toys or sending a traveller to space. Who can guarantee that the money saved from the cut subsidy would be well spent?

In my words…

“Why should we spent money to send a man to space, who rides on a billion dollar spaceship with super capacity engines? It should be meant only for the men riding on wheels.”