‘To introduce such a drastic increase on what is considered as essential cannot be in the best interests of the people.’
On Fuel hike: 78 sen more to RM2.70 per litre
Antony: The BN government has certainly lost the plot. To introduce such a drastic increase on what is considered as essential cannot be in the best interests of the people. If the coffers of the government are empty, the right thing to do is to come out transparently to the people and explain as to how this has happened.
Subsidising petrol for the common man seems to be such an effort, whereas bailing out failed businessmen to the tune of billions of ringgit is done brazenly and without any regard to the actual interest of the Malaysian people.
Why couldn't some form of notice be given? Was there a need for an eleventh hour announcement? The working poor would need to make significant adjustments to their lives and it would only have been a humane thing to do to give them some time to adjust.
Is this a government by the people for the people or is this governing by a chosen few for the interest of a hand-picked elite? There should be a study carried out as to the true rate of inflation in the country, and not the suppressed figures which are being released by the government.
Hakim Omar: Why the petrol price hike at this time? The BN government knows that the petrol price hike would result in a backlash against the government but it went ahead regardless. Why? This is the RM13 billion question.
Some say that the country needs the RM13.7 billion savings is to finance projects with the intention of wooing back the rakyat. The BN states will receive extra allocation. The opposition states will not get the allocation as punishment for voting against the BN.
Another favourite theory is that the money is to fund all the Corridor-rayas that the government has announced. Others say that this is a diversionary tactic designed to get BN to focus and unite on the bigger economic challenges instead of the ongoing internal political fighting.
Yet others say that having failed in using the race card, the BN government is now using the economic card to create unrest to justify using the emergency laws to shackle its enemies.
The consensus from the rakyat is that if an election is held any time soon, BN will be swept out of power.
Booi Kheng: As far as the oil price hike is concerned, I don't mind paying fixed market rates or a floating market price provided Petronas pays an equity dividend to every Malaysian.
The government is entrusted to manage the economy efficiently and effectively. They don't own Malaysia and its assets. The money Malaysia makes from oil should be ploughed back into the economy.
If the annual net income from petrol oil is around RM40 billion, every single Malaysian should be getting not less than a RM2,000 yearly subsidy. It is high time that the Petronas Act be reviewed.
Bobbiey Redz: Hello billionaire/zillionaire ministers out there. You might have your own petrol stations so you don’t need to worry. But here is what the people are going through. Cooking gas price will also increase but we still have to buy it to cook food for the family.
The flour price is high. ‘Okay family, we can't make any food that uses flour. Dad can't afford it’. The rice price is also high. ‘Okay children, now we will only eat potatoes with salt, this is how your great-great grandparents used to eat. Children, welcome to Malaysia!’
Who let all this happen? I don’t know how long we all will be able to stay quiet while some people line their pockets and briefcases.
But Malaysians, the last election has shown that we are strong. I hope Malaysians won't have to suffer anymore because I am sure that all of us, just had enough.
Tham: I believe most Malaysians are really very upset and disappointed with the ruling government right now. To the incompetent BN, I could only quote this from Cromwell: ‘You have sat here too long for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you! In the name of God, go! Go! Go! Go!"
Ricky Hiew: Oil price hike? For a lower and middle-income family with two kids and only one car, this is going to be difficult on us. It seems the government is pushing the lower income and the middle-income families down the income ladder.
The rich won’t mind, they’ve got so many cars at home. What is worse is that the public transport system is actually not well-planned. It is messy. Is the government making it difficult for the rakyat just because they lost big in the recent elections? I think our dear PM is trying to get more extra income before stepping down.
Om Prakash: The government cannot be in the business of playing the market for income. Its only source is through taxation. Enforce better and fairer taxation laws but dismantle the Malaysia Incorporated and Ministry of Finance Sdn Bhd. Let market forces determine supply and demand but with a firm wage policy for the private and civil sectors in tandem.
Go back to the basics of taking care of the rakyat and stop wastage on mega-projects, events, promotions and protocol affairs. It is the one of the core responsibilities of any government to provide an efficient and affordable public transport throughout the whole country. We don’t have that. Is it possibly to promote more car sales and for more taxes to be collected?
The fuel hike will increase the crime rate and corruption since the government has failed to accept the fact that the civil and private sectors must together establish a minimum wage policy not for selected jobs but for all categories of job. It is an utter disgrace that the government or the cabinet still refuses to listen. The current trend will surely help the takeover by Pakatan Rakyat sooner than expected.
SS Thind: Our PM always compares us to other countries like in Europe and Thailand when citing the so-called price difference. Mr PM, don't forget that while countries like England and Thailand do pay higher price for fuel, they do not pay high road tax, tolls, etc
Can we match them? No, because you need to ensure Proton stays afloat or else Umno will skin you alive. How about high taxes on cars? And what about your son-in-law? Shame on you, Mr PM. You will go down in the history of Malaysia as the worst PM we ever had.
V Chern: Pak Lah is in a traumatic dilemma – damned if nothing is done, equally damned if something gets done. The Treasury coffers may be near empty. He has no choice but to reduce the subsidy. However, the 40% jump is just too much for the public, especially when compounded by the pending increase in electricity rate. Who knows what comes next?
Whatever happened to the oil revenue? Where has the Petronas colossal wealth gone? Who took care of the billions of EPF and taxpayers’ money? Expect more turbulence.
W Khairul: We're not paying the market price for cars like the Thais do and we don't have an efficient public transport to depend on like Singaporeans do. I feel both of my hands being tied, me being blindfolded and being forced to say, ‘It's okay, we're good. We're going to change our lifestyle’.
When they increased the petrol price from RM1.62 to RM1.92 few years back, the savings was said to be used to improve our public transportation system. I didn't see that.
When they ban Thais from filling up at country’s borders, the excuse was so that the subsidy could be enjoyed only by Malaysians. Merely two days later, the ban is off so much so that the ban on Singaporeans didn't even take place! So much for long-term planning.
Alphonce: Why can't the government just abolish the AP system and let the market do the talking? By doing this, our cost of living might go down. Just imagine, a Toyota Vios is just RM48,000 in Langkawi.
This increase in oil price definitely will make the cost of living go up. They're saying we are the lowest in this region but is that true? What I hope is for the Sabahan MPs to please join the opposition and form a new federal government. At least we can find out what went wrong with this current government.
Frustrated: Personally, I feel that this fuel price hike will tremendously effect the low and middle-income earners. Specially those who use cars to go to work every day. This 78-sen fuel hike will eventually force some to go into bankruptcy.
This is because they will have to juggle their petrol bills plus their car loan repayments. To settle the bank loan they may have to find some Ah Longs to help (don’t expect the banks to do so).
Feddup: Pak Lah, you have committed so many crimes against the rakyat in the past but those were all passive crimes like sleeping through your tenure, giving full power to your son-in-law, etc.
But this price hike is truly is the worst crime against the rakyat. Where is our tax money going to? Where is the billions of Petronas money going to? Insiders say that, over the past nine years, Umno has siphoned off about RM390 billion of Petronas’ money. Where has this money gone? Can we have an independent foreign auditor to audit Petronas’ accounts for the past nine years? The rakyat will pay for their fee.
Where did your unemployed son-in-law get the millions (without a bank loan) to buy shares in companies? Was the money from Petronas or one of the other GLCs? You say that the tax rate in Malaysia is not as high as most countries but we are being taxed from every direction.
My water bill used to be about RM40 every two months. After it was privatised to an Umno crony, the water bill was issued every month instead of every other month. Then slowly, my monthly bill matched the amount that I used to be charged every other month.
Even that increased tremendously and now I pay an exorbitant tariff for brown undrinkable water. So I have to buy drinking water for my family although I’m giving your friend so much money every month to supply my family with drinking water. Isn’t this another form of taxing the public, or do you see it as just another legalised robbery?
Then there are road tolls everywhere I drive. I can go on and on on all the various disguised forms of taxes in Malaysia. In the West, some governments impose hefty tax rates but the money is returned to the people via free (or highly subsidised) education, health treatment and state-of-the- art infrastructure.
What do we get for all the various taxes we pay? Mr PM, you are a failure as a prime minister. You have used the rakyat’s money to enrich your son-in-law and other close cronies. We now realise that depriving Umno of its two-thirds majority is not enough. We have to throw the whole bunch. We want Pakatan Rakyat to manage our resources.
Chong Wu Ling: Like most Malaysians, I was extremely shocked at the drastic rise in petrol price and the increase in electricity tariffs. Doesn’t the government know that our current salaries do not commensurate with the rise in petrol, food, rice and consumer goods prices for most Malaysians?
Doesn’t the government realise that the rebates for car-owners and motorists are unlikely to offset the impact of the petrol price hike? Doesn’t the government realise that the price hike will bring subsequent inflation and this will increase the burden on the low- and middle-income community?
Doesn’t the government expect that there might also be a rise in the crime rate if people cannot cope with the subsequent inflation? And most importantly, doesn’t the government know that petrol prices in other oil-producing countries such as Venezuela, Nigeria and Iran are much cheaper than ours?
So how can the prime minister expect that the people will not protest against the price hike? Therefore, I call upon the government reconsider its decision to increase the petrol price and electricity tariffs before the quality of living in the country becomes even worse.
On Change your lifestyle, gov't told
Pharmwell: The government keeps asking us to change our lifestyle. The majority of us fly economy whenever we travel by air. They should direct that directive to themselves. But do you think that leopard will change its spots?
On It's only '16 sen per litre in Venezuela'
Paul: I'm tired of hearing people saying our fuel price (RM 2.70/litre) is still cheap compared to that of Singapore’s (more than RM4/litre). For heaven's sake, try to understand that Singaporeans are paid their salaries in Singapore dollars. I'm a teacher earning RM3,000 a month. Pay me a salary of SG$3,000 and I will not be annoyed by silly remarks like how cheap our fuel is compared to Singapore.
