We pay income tax each year of no small amount. I pay a sum for the upgrading of a school field in the community I live in. My children do not even go to that school.

The Chinese national-type school my children go to had to collect money to complete the school building and to buy the tables and chairs. Now, they are collecting money to build the school hall. We all are pretty familiar with these school charity drives.

To use the roads, I pay road tax for my car and when I use the highways I pay toll, the booths for which are now virtually everywhere in the city. I faithfully pay my quit rent and assessment rates to the local municipal council in charge of the area I live in.

Yet, the suburb I live in with over 500,000 people does not have a sufficient police force. So, I and my neighbours pay for contract security around the clock. We pay our water bills to a private company but yesterday I had to service my heavy duty water filter in the garden because it was choked up with mud and yellow stuff.

We are all familiar with the murky piped water in this wonderful cosmopolitan city of ours which once housed the tallest buildings in the world.

And now, the price of petrol has been increased a hefty 7.2 percent. The price of diesel, which all lorries and buses use, increased by a whopping 23 percent. No doubt the cost of distributing our food and goods will invariably be passed on to the end user.

It is quite a miracle that the inflation rate as reported by Bank Negara still stays at a low, single digit number. I am no economist, but in the last 12 months the cost of my glass of tea increased by 25 percent, my 'char koay teow' by 16.66 percent and my nightcap cup of Milo by 10 percent.

And we have to brace ourselves for another round of price increases. I am sure this will go on until at least just before the next general elections.

Somehow, I don't feel so good anymore. Perhaps I will have to go to other third world countries to rekindle the 'feel good factor' since our ministers are so fond of comparing ourselves with those worse of than us.