I really don't quite care anymore how the government explains, or justifies the petrol/diesel price increase and their restructuring of the petrol subsidy.
Not convincing. I'm no economist but I am sure that there must be another way of overcoming the global oil price increase without burdening the rakyat.
The fact is the cost of EVERYTHING will now go up.
Electricity tariffs are now higher.
We, the ordinary folk, the rakyat, the consumers are made to pay more. And more.
I can feel the pinch already.
I think the motto is -"pass it on to the consumers while you still can".
So, will you change your lifestyle as our national leaders have asked us to?
Question is -- will they (our leaders) practise what they preach, lead by example and ubah their gaya hidup?
No more Prada and LV bags and the latest BMW series for the missus, eh?
Please read these:
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad here,
Anwar Ibrahim here,
Mukhriz Mahathir here
Fong Po Kuan here
Read Apanama's silent prayer here.
Salam, Nuraina:
ReplyDeleteWhile I was waiting in the queu for last minute fill up at the petrol kiosk last night, it occured to me that perhaps the price hikes will be a blessing in disguise.
If we don't change our life styles and dependencies on fossil fuels and private autos NOW, we never will.
This self-imposed austerity 'drive' will not only be kind to our pockets but might even be good for our souls, not to mention the environment.
NOT to say that I absolve the government from its social responsibility, though.
I did my share of venting yesterday at the Govt. I travel a lot and found that the petrol cost in other countries are much higher though that doesn't make me feel much better. Can the Govt guarantee that there's no more increase in petrol price in Aug?
ReplyDeleteYou asked "WIll we change our lifestyle?". I certainly will. Just calculated that one full tank of petrol will cost me an extra of nearly RM50. So guess I will walk to the shop down the road rather than drive (like I usually do), I'll make sure I know how to get to my destination instead of getting lost (and use more petrol),eat out only for special occassions, switch off lights when not in use, reduce air-con usage and reduce wastage in food - guess this will be a great time to go on diet ! I've been told if you drive slower, you use less petrol so that goes into my list too.
I'd love for someone to start a list on how we can reduce our expenses in these trying times...
Sorrow and more to come blanketing this country.(http://sexyjudge.blogspot.com/2008/06/more-sorrows-countrymen-we-are-not.html)
ReplyDeleteCrime rate will be an issue. People can be creative.
http://sexyjudge.blogspot.com/2008/06/art-of-survival-crime.html
You don't understand Ms Nuraina ?
ReplyDeleteThat makes you, me and the rest of Malaysians.
"Petrol prices will reflect market prices"
But what about other things such as food, transportation etc., will they reflect any "real time" changes vis-a vis the fluctuation of oil prices ? I doubt.
The cash subsidy will only benefit those who own cars. What about those people who don't own one and have to make a daily hump on our "very efficient" public transportation system ? They won't get anything, instead, they'll have to pay more for the increase to public transportation costs which will come sooner than you can say "Pak Lah".
At least KL people have LRT, Commuters, Monorails etc. (though inefficient it may be) I know so because I'm from KL, but have the Government ever considered about those living in rural areas ?
Utusan today (yes I read Utusan for amusement purposes) :-
"Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi mahu rakyat menjadi ‘mata dan telinga’ kerajaan dalam usaha membendung kenaikan harga barangan keperluan ekoran langkah menaikkan harga petrol dan diesel berkuat kuasa esok."
Eyes and ears for the Government ? Are they really THAT ignorant about the hardship of the rakyat ? Have they even not considered about the mere possibility of the domino effect derived from this sudden oil price hike ?
“Kalau kita sedia buat perubahan dalam cara hidup dan buat penjimatan, insya-Allah kita tidak akan hadapi kesan yang teruk sangat.”- Pak Lah
Some people never get it. Sometimes we've stretched ourselves to the max just to stay afloat every month, and don't even talk about savings.
Finally, the final final quote :
"Ubah gaya hidup"
We change for better, not going backwards.
It would be good to change one's lifestyle. Fuel prices are invariably linked to production costs of everything. Cutting down on say 2 to 3 cups of Starbucks per week will offset the price increase. Drive smaller more fuel efficient cars. Increase tax on higher polluting cars. Give tax breaks for cleaner cars. One thing the govt did not address is the cost of the environment. They have not addressed congestion and traffic by providing more efficient public transport to attract car owners to ditch their cars. Perhaps its time KL has a similiar road traffic pricing scheme like HongKong, Singapore or London.
ReplyDelete"No more Prada and LV bags and the latest BMW series for the missus AND MISTRESSES, eh?"
ReplyDeleteIt was lovely to meet you in person at the Media Walk.
ReplyDeleteMy say on the Petrol Hike,
to say the least; it is a totally disgusting situation.
We cannot even use the Public Transport, for it is so poorly managed, so no choice but fork out from our limited resourses.
The Govt should buck up and provide better transportation for Joe and Jane Public.
We're in the deep pit right now with no way of climbing out..
Very Bleak Indeed..
Without much cheer..
Bina
From Utusan :-
ReplyDeleteMT UMNO berkumpul di Shah Alam bincang hala tuju pulihkan parti
SHAH ALAM 5 Jun — Retreat Majlis Tertinggi UMNO selama dua hari bermula di sini hari ini bagi membincangkan hala tuju parti selain merangka strategi untuk mengembalikan sokongan rakyat terhadap parti itu yang merosot dalam pilihan raya umum 8 Mac lepas.
Retreat di sebuah hotel di sini, yang disertai kesemua 52 anggota MT UMNO itu, dipercayai turut membincangkan prestasi UMNO sebelum dan selepas pilihan raya itu.
Retreat itu dimulakan dengan amanat Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yang juga Presiden UMNO.
Timbalan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yang juga Timbalan Presiden UMNO dan Setiausaha Agung UMNO, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor turut menyampaikan taklimat.
Perbincangan berlangsung dalam tiga kumpulan dengan Naib Presiden UMNO Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam mempengerusikan kumpulan pertama, seorang lagi Naib Presiden Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin mengetuai kumpulan kedua dan Ketua Penerangan Tan Sri Muhammad Muhd Taib mengetuai kumpulan ketiga.
Comment :-
Isn't it a bit too late to discuss on the ways to attract support from the rakyat, even from the Malays with the oil price hike issue ?
"Retreat" done in a hotel (52 attendees mind you). I'm sure these 52 people are not staying in "standard rooms".
"Ubah Gaya Hidup" ? .... 'nuff said
A.kum Kak Aina,
ReplyDelete1. Nasib baik lah saya dah cepat-cepat beli baju raya untuk anak isteri 3 hari lepas.
2. Sempat juga beli kasut raya 'snowfly' untuk isteri kesayangan hamba kat Isetan. Baju raya isteri pula dah beli kat Norafah Batik, K.Trg last month. Begitu juga baju raya anak-anak.
3. Kalau tidak tentu saya kena bayar kos lebih untuk petrol, harga makanan dan pakaian..sure akan naik punya. Tak rugi lah saya beli awal, biarlah orang nak kata apa pun kat saya. Janji saya boleh untung sikit.
http://sukj.blogspot.com
Agree wholeheartedly with your last comment! What irks me most is the fact the government told a bare-faced lie!!!
ReplyDeleteah, no change at all nuraina...as a matter of fact, the mayor and Zulhasnan and 15 other kuncu2 are in Vancouver and Berlin this week in order "to study ways to make KL a world class city"...wah..so convenient eh, mase cuti sekolah plak tu...full fare no less for all the pirates and their spouses, mistresses ans kids...i wonder sapa bayar...shopping heaven again...they can't even clean the longkangs, the smog, the congestion, the degradation of the environment, the rivers etcs in the city and they are talking abt world class??
ReplyDeleteIn these lean times too...they just never learn...and they don't give a shit what we think...and as such, there are 10 opposition MPs mewakili KL and none of them invited?? Would certainly spoil the shopping and sightseeing.
Salam,
ReplyDeleteTeringat akan kata2 seorang kakak ketika saya ke jemputan perkahwinan baru2 ni..'ni udah jimat la...akak makan sayur2 kampung je yg ada di keliling rumah...kalau hari2 makan pucuk ubi, pucuk labu, pucuk paku...kambing pun kembong perut....ayam di bela...harap2 tak da penyakit, ikan je beli sbb tak dak kolam dan jauh dari sungai dan laut..depa cakap senang...suruh jimat...ia la ...depa kan selalu ada jemputan ...lunch dan dinner...akak ada 3 anak kat u dan 3 lagi sekolah menengah...kalau nak buat baju...4 meter sorang...rasanya tak dak baju raya baru la anak2 kak tahun ni...harap2 mereka paham....'.
Nampak sangat marah dan kecewanya dia...
It is not that the govt or petronas is paying out real cash out of their pocket for consumers when they "subsidise*" us.
ReplyDelete*The cost of "subsidy" = mkt price had they sold externally
TECHNICALLY this is not a wrong reasoning of what susbsidy means.
BUT The main reasons we are all so pissed off are:
1. We ARE a oil producing nation right? Therefore the oil belongs to the nation.
Then surely it is not too much to ask that ALL Rakyats can enjoy some benefits from having oil in their country?
True we still are not paying as much as non-oil producing countries BUT
surely the same "reasoning" applies for..let's say the price of rice.
We can assume Thai rice is cheaper in Thailand because they produce it
However we can assume rice should be expensive in Norway because they are not producing it
Needless to say there is also a huge disparity in income between a Norwegian and a Thai/Malaysian!
2. Petronas and UMNO are too arrogant!!
IF the oil belongs to the nation, should Petronas and their ruling lords have to account for where the revenue went???
Nobody knows why Petronas is simply UNABLE (or are they unwilling) to account for the NATION's Revenue!
Here I am direcly blaming UMNO as having MISMANAGED (a mild term) Petronas because how else can this be happening?
after all..
UMNO is the rulling party
UMNO is therefore the MANAGERS of Petronas
Or is UMNO saying they aren't running Petronas so they dunno and dun care?
OR is UMNO saying all oils belong to UMNO(& not Trengannu, Sabah and Sarawak or the nation)?
Because that is all UMNO has to say outright and then we should all just shut up!
Consumers a.k.a Rakyat will always bear the burden when a government mis-managed a country.
ReplyDeleteI has been changing my lifestyle since 2004 and seems that there is not much for me to change. So what else can i do?
Since the current salaries of the average people definitely not enough to cope with the rise in fuel, food, goods and services( and i don't think our wages will increase much if any at all), I suggest the Government should seriously look into reducing the personal income tax which is a direct relief, will ease the impact of these hikes.
aren't we getting back rm625.00 a year for each car below 2000 cc !?
ReplyDeleteSalam Kak Aina,
ReplyDeleteSorry but on this subject, my opinion is Harga Minyak memang patut naik.. Please visit my blog at http:\\malaysiabebas.blogspot.com to understand why.
gobloking,
ReplyDeleteNo point to drag petronas here. they are a business entity not the one raising or reducing the petrol price. it's the govt doing. petronas has been paying good taxes and dividend to the govt, its account is free for viewing at their website. please don't bring yourself down to raja petra level by demanding petronas to report to parliament..you want petronas to be run by politicians ?? It will be destroyed in no time and once petronas is destroyed..malaysia also will be destroyed..
Salam Nuraina
ReplyDeleteBut Nuraina Sharil said the price of goods should'nt go up......
ubah gaya hidup
ReplyDeletenasihat lembek dan basi overused dari politikus hipokrit. Takda makna bagi orang kelas bawahan yang dah separa merempat
apa yang nak di ubah untuk mereka yang sebegini ?
Berapa kali mereka pergi starbuck sebulan?
Bolehkah mereka menanam sayur atau ternak ayam itek di flat2 2 bilik mereka ?
Adakah mereka bawa anak2 melancung luar negeri?
Ubah gaya hidup... it irks me when Pak Lah says that. Reminds me of a short film made my Youth for Change.
ReplyDeleteWrote about this in my blog... seriously Pak Lah... walk the talk... change your lifestyle FIRST.
ajimsan
http://wasappening.blogspot.com
Hi Anis!
ReplyDeletePlease tell me DO!
Is Petronas being run by politicians?
Indirectly it IS already being run by politicians, but in this case - by UMNO! Petronas belongs to the "Government".
And what do you think guides its management, recruitment & biz principles?
Is Petronas well run?
Well. Petronas itself acknowledges it is accountable ONLY to the PM
So if you believe our Govt is well run, therefore it is.
I however, beg to differ! (Which is why I "figure" that Petronas can't be that "well run").
BTW thank YOU for saying I am in the same (il)logic level as Raja Petra.
I am FLATTERED and you made my day.
I would be honored to be compared to the little finger of a man who writes more than a semblance of truth & with more passion than be compared to the thieving racists we have today.
It does not take a rocket scientist (or do we say "astronaut (sic)" in malaysia?)to figure out
A company is only as well run as the supervision or guidance given by shareholders - which in our case is the govt!
I dun complain lah because i spend 50rm more each month BUT get back rm625/= EVERY YEAR what, right aina ?
ReplyDeletemy friend is LUCKY : he owns 3 cars , 2 of them cannot be pakaied but lagi ada road tax so he could claim rm625x3 = rm 1875.00. WOW, i am jealous !!
ReplyDelete