COMMENT | With the US/Israel’s naked, unprovoked, bullying, rash, incendiary, heartless, cruel attack against a hapless Iran, it is more obvious than ever that oil is slippery and elusive. It needs clear thinking followed by measured action to get a grip on it.

We have allowed the problem of oil to slide through our fingers because, in a decades-long time of plenty, we have not gotten ready for a period when its supply is perilously threatened and prepared people to pay higher prices for a dwindling asset.

Thoughtlessly, we have followed the path of many Third World countries to squander our oil wealth through not only corrupt practices but also putting political expediency above everything, neglecting to preserve it for future generations and making good investments through a sovereign wealth fund.

We criminally allowed the waste of precious energy by keeping its cost artificially well below market price for all Malaysians, especially for RON95, among the lowest prices in the world at RM1.99 per litre, initially capped at 300 litres per month, and recently reduced to 200 litres.

This not only actively promotes the indiscriminate use of oil by our consumers, but also allows it for those who can afford to pay full price, by far the major users of RON95, inexplicably allowing richer people the leeway to...