'Use savings from global drop to cut petrol prices'
Following the global oil prices hitting a four-year-low at US$87.74 per barrel yesterday, the Perak DAP political and economic bureau has urged the government to use its savings to further reduce the price of RON95 petrol and diesel prices which had seen a hike by 20 sen earlier this month.
Following the global oil prices hitting a four-year-low at US$87.74 per barrel yesterday, the Perak DAP political and economic bureau has urged the government to use its savings to further reduce the price of RON95 petrol and diesel prices which had seen a hike by 20 sen earlier this month.
Chong Zemin, who heads the bureau, said this is to help reduce the burden of the people.
"As reported by Bloomberg, global oil prices fell to a four-year low yesterday, hitting an intraday low of US$87.74 per barrel for Brent. This is the lowest level seen by Brent since December 2010.
"When Putrajaya announced the fuel hike for RON95 and diesel on Oct 1, Brent oil was at a price of US$94.16. The Brent has slid even further since then and the intraday low of US$87.74 represents a 6.8 percent price drop since September 30," he said.
Chong said the 6.8 percent drop is higher than if the government were to impose the six percent Goods and Services Tax on the oil.
He said Prime Minister and Finance Minister Najib Abdul Razak can boast about not imposing GST on RON95 and diesel, but he failed to reduce the prices of petrol and diesel in line with the fall in global price.
"Putrajaya is effectively imposing a higher than GST rate on RON95 and diesel based on the latest global oil price," Chong said, adding that he had previously quoted a Reuters report on Oct 3, where energy analysts agreed the price will continue to dip next year.
"This has forced energy analysts to make the largest downward revision to their oil price forecast in almost two years.
"In anticipation of the falling oil prices persisting into 2015, I urge Najib to review the price of RON95 and diesel every fortnight in line with the falling global oil prices," he said.
Malaysians, Chong said, deserve to enjoy cheaper fuel price especially at a time when global oil prices are tumbling and the people are now having a tough time to put bread on the table as a result of the rising cost of living.
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