YOURSAY ‘The last option left is to shove it to the rakyat to make up all the excesses such as a bloated civil service, a top-heavy cabinet, etc.’

So, what costs are going up in 2014?

Onyourtoes: The government must understand how the various subsidies come about in the first place. It is due to high cost generated by cronies, monopolies, stupid concessions and privatisation deals.

By removing the subsidies, you are essentially asking the people to pay the “full cost”, which includes inefficiencies, wastage, corruption and abnormal profits of all the well-connected cronies and vested interest groups.

Subsidies in Malaysia is a must because it is not the market price the consumers are paying; it is market prices plus lots of juicy goodies for cronies. Seriously, do you understand what I am saying, Finance Minister Najib Razak?

Fair Play: The truth is that the powers-that-be had already used up all the options available. The last option left is to shove it to the rakyat to make up all the excesses such as a bloated civil service, a top-heavy cabinet, mismanagement, lack of foresight, planning and incompetency.

By accident or by design, the powers-that-be had opened the Pandora’s Box of price hikes.

Clearwater: Indeed, 2014 will be the year of living precariously when price inflation decimates the living standards of the lower and middle classes. Thank you, BN, for your invaluable contribution to this financial mess.

Yummy: The citizens of Malaysia can accept this being a short-term pain if people can see themselves out of this quagmire. Is it anytime soon the government will force employers to pay salaries in line with a high-income nation?

The ministers in the cabinet are hopelessly out of touch with the people's struggles. The more this government raises the costs, the more it smells of cronies being enriched.

Facts Facts Facts: Okay, how about increasing our salary by 30 percent to balance the ongoing rise in prices? Ask the big corporations this question. They are so greedy for profits and make the employees work like slaves but never reward them.

CiViC: Commenter Facts, Facts, Facts, don't be naive to push the fault of rising cost of living to companies and corporations.

Why should any corporation be cushioning the impact of rising costs caused by the irresponsible BN government when they themselves are affected? That is minus a few which are heavily subsidised by the BN government with funds, and grants and loans that they need not repay.

One thing Malaysiakini writer Nigel Aw forgot to add is the cascading effect of these hikes. Which practically means everything will be affected.

Dont Just Talk: Not only are Malaysians asked to tighten our belt and accept cut in subsidies, the 1Malaysia PM in Putrajaya’s annual electricity bill cost taxpayers over RM2 million and his wife, the (first lady of Malaysia) FLOM is flying around the world in the executive jet with her associates.

Can the finance minister of Malaysia, who also happens to be the PM, and Bank Negara governor Zeti Aziz elaborate on the reasons that our ringgit is weakening against Singapore dollar, which is now at S$1 to RM2.6. Singapore, which is a mud-flat island without any resources, is way ahead of Malaysia.

Bamboo: The government’s coffers must be scrapping the bottom, thus the drastic tsunami of price increases.

Now it's payback time for those receiving the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) pre-GE13. And it’s likely we will not see BR1M3 as the government has broken its electoral promises before.

Malaysia Truly Asia: The price hikes do not seem like much. Only the middle income and above will feel it. Other than those who use public transport, this is minimal.

Those in middle-income group will not feel that much of a pinch, but of course the rich will pay dearly. If you can afford to drive a car, you can afford the increase.

Regarding the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and Bangsar issue, just so you all know, a single-storey link house 40 years old or more in Bangsar is going for RM1.2 million.

Angry_Voter: Good! More please. We deserved it.

Ex-wfw: It looks like the Malaysian Competition Commission (MyCC) is just to provide employment to another group of unemployables.

To date, they will threaten all the ‘kacang puteh’ traders with the Competition Act but leave the sharks to eat up everything on their way. Why can't they call the parties concerned to justify their demands to increase prices?

Unless the 47 percent of Malaysians wake up from their slumber, you are going have more ‘harga naik’ even after 2014 as our ringgit shrinks through corruption and wastage.

Malaysian P**-***h: This is the price we pay for putting BN in power. It's unable to manage the economy and unable to curb corruption. In fact, it encourages corruption.

Basically: Actually the right answer to the question what costs will go up is ‘everything’. Coffee and tea prices have already gone up and the percentage increase is higher than the original hikes. One hike will cause another, and the effects will multiply.

So you can stay home and plant chilli, but eventually it will hit you when you least expect it.

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