It was an inevitable reality that the price of crude oil would increase from US$28.67 per barrel in Oct 30 last year to the current US$54 per barrel.

The Malaysian government would have conducted many in-depth research studies on the implications of the price increase, but all this research is only academic if not translated into pre-emptive and preventive actions.

With regards to the oil price, the Malaysian Economic Action Council has failed miserably in its duty to the prime minister in that it had:

- failed to recognise the upward movement trends of the crude oil commodity;

- failed in wrongly assuming that Petronas's output could cushion the impact of world crude oil price surge;

- failed to create the hedging fund to anticipate the crude oil price movement when it broke the US$35 and US$40 resistance level in mid-January 2004;

- failed to advice Petronas to build up its buffer stock in anticipating an oil price surge;

- failed to audit possible fraud in forward selling by Petronas in its derivative trading and also in its revenue from its overseas operations;

The Malaysian Economic Action Council has also failed in other areas of the country's financial sector in that it had:

- failed to formulate suitable investment strategies to attract foreign direct investment and

- failed to convert the Multimedia Super Corridor into an economic power house.

Petronas recorded a turnover of RM210.7 billion for the first nine months of production last year. Petronas's taxable income should be around RM36.3 billion or about 17.2% of its turnover.

After paying RM19.26 billion in income tax and dividend to the government, Petronas still retains a profit of RM6.88 billion in its cash vaults.

Petronas' retained profits since 1983 could now easily exceed RM140 billion. Where has all the money gone?

The national oil firm should disclose its accounting and audit reports to the public since it is a public company owned entirely by Malaysian tax payers.