Most Read
Most Commented
Read more like this
mk-logo
News
Your say: Rebates for BMW owners too?
Published:  Jun 10, 2008 8:56 AM
Updated: 9:26 AM

vox populi big thumbnail ‘How can I be denied the rebate simply on engine capacity? My neighbour drives a brand new BMW 3-series but enjoys the rebate. Is there any justice here?’

On PM: We'll do everything to ease rakyat's burden

JustaBloke: A 2000cc benchmark for cars have become the criteria for the government to decide on who gets the RM625 rebate and who does not. It also decides on the road tax one has to pay. Isn't this so unfair when the age of the car is not taken into consideration?

I am a retired person with no pension. I own a Mercedes which is 23 years old and which has an engine capacity of 2300cc. I had to travel considerably in my job and this seemed a safe and reliable car. Upon retirement, I wanted to replace it with a smaller car, but every reputed make and model was so expensive. Besides the value of the Mercedes was next to nothing and this didn't help matters either. So I had no choice but to hang on to this car in spite of the heavier road tax.

Now I find I am being penalised again and it’s so unfair. How can I be denied the rebate simply on engine capacity? My neighbour drives a brand new BMW two-seater and gets to enjoy all the benefits simply because his engine capacity is 1998cc. Is there any justice here?

It’s obvious the government must take a closer look at this rebate issue and make sure that it is the needy who get the rebate and the age of the car is of paramount significance. I know of several retirees who are in the same predicament as I am and a caring government must recognise this and make amends immediately.

Over to you Mr Prime Minister and let’s see if you really care.

Raymond WGT: The government wants to follow the present market fuel price but the government should also remove all taxes for all new cars whether they are local or imported cars. This is fair for the rakyat. The rakyat will have greater choice of imported fuel-efficient cars.

Jeffery: With the price of fuel going up so high and the BN government asking the rakyat to change their lifestyles, I just wonder will those menteri-menteri also change their lifestyles too? Can they buy their own petrol instead of using government money to buy their petrol?

They should be the ones to show the way. Walk the talk. Dear PM and all the menteri, pleaser do your part. Don't just talk - do it together and feel the pain of the rakyat .

Jon: Some companies which are entitled to the ‘green cards’ (to purchase subsidised diesel from the government) will still increase their charges telling the consumer they are either not entitled for the card and that it is difficult to apply for the subsidy.

The government should publish the names of all companies or individuals who are entitled to these ‘green cards’ so that they will not use ‘non-entitlement’ or ‘difficult to apply’ as excuses to raise their prices.

The government should also set up a toll-free line for the public on the rebates. Why punish and burden the rakyat by asking them to line up at the post office or the bank to cash their rebates? If every individual were to go to the bank or post office imagine how much many they have to spend on transportation, parking fees, petrol etc.

Leong: The government’s sudden increase for the oil price is an unreasonable act. They should have give us more notice. And the price is too high. As I know, we are one of the oil-producing countries so why such a big rise in our price of petro?

Besides that, they haven't counted on the inflation this will bring to us. The latest figure for inflation is about 5% (before the petrol price went up) but now it will go higher and higher. How can a family with children survive with such a high living cost especially for those in KL?

The government has taken a wrong step. They should start explaining where the money that Petronas had given to us has gone too. They always tell us subsidies are too high but they still have money to build some big projects, send the angkasawan to space, go on lawatan sambil belajar all without any benefit to the rakyat .

Is it our country really that poor, I ask? Or shall we say there are too many black holes in the government that suck in all the money with no way to get it back?

LJ Wong: Getting rid of the subsidy system is a wise thing to do. In fact, it should have been done decades ago. The subsidy system is one of the many things that have been mismanaged by the incompetent BN government for the past 3-4 decades.

The subsidy system in Malaysia exists only because of the deeply entrenched crony system – it goes hand-in-hand. But getting rid of the subsidy system for oil and retaining the bloodsucking crony system with escalating prices on toll (toll concessionaires), electricity (TNB), water (Syabas), telephone (Telekom), rice and flour (Bernas), Astro, excise duties on cars (Proton) is not only wrong but is a double whammy on the citizens.

The citizens have to pay high prices for oil and for daily basic necessities like tolls, electricity, communication, entertainment and foodstuffs. It's like throwing the citizens to the wolves. Look at the obscene amount of profits made year after year by the toll concessionaires, TNB, water companies, Telekom, Astro, Bernas, Proton etc. They are milking the citizens who have no choice but to use the services of these monopoly or oligopoly companies.

The subsidy was there in the first place to protect the poor citizens from the secretive, lopsided agreements signed by the corrupt BN government with their cronies. Now, the subsidy which is the only protection left for the citizens is removed without dismantling the bloodsucking crony system and reducing the prices of tolls, electricity, water, foodstuffs, cars, etc,

Is not the BN government abandoning the citizens to be eaten by wolves?

M Pathma: Referring to here , Malaysia produces 588.22 thousand barrels of oil per say and we consume only 501 thousand barrels per day (forecast value as of May 16, 2008).

Why do we need to follow the world oil price as we are making enough oil for our own use. Where goes all the oil we produce? Can someone please explain to me?

Joel Lim: The nation, in the recent general election, voted in favour of BN to allow them to govern the country in anticipation of promises that the high inflation rate, high crime rate, corruption, etc will be looked into.

But the true colours behind the camouflage of the BN culprits before the general elections are now clearly shown in the open as to how they prefer to choose to protect the interests of a few at the expense of the whole nation.

With the result of the recent general election, I am shocked that the Abdullah administration still fails to see the primary reasons for their poor performance even though they won with a narrow majority.

I bet, the higher the price of oil goes up, the harder the BN government will fall. Soon, BN will be history. No matter what you do now, you certainly have lost my vote in the next general elections for sure.

Too many scandals, a high crime rate, high inflation, countless corruption cases all compounded by a poor economic management team. It’s time BN be history.

CK: The advice from the government is akin to telling the rakyat to ‘buy low sell high’. I have a better suggestion. Ride a horse or bullock cart instead; eat raw food (no need to spend on cooking gas) the list goes on. Just revisit how we did things back in the 50s.

Gee, this is how Malaysia is becoming a developed nation. Our next step towards Vision 2020!

On PM announces RM2 bil cost cuts after fuel hike

KL Foo: The cost-cutting exercise with a freeze on new employment (non-essential positions) will create more unemployment and for sure this will cause an increase in the nation’s crime rate.

I doubt that our finance minister knows what is called micro-economics. We should go back to basic and they should go back to school.

On It's only '16 sen per litre in Venezuela

Eng-Aun Cheng: The figures given by Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail are right. However, why don't we compare ourselves with another group of oil producers - Norway, United Kingdom and Canada?

According to the CIA Factbook, the countries export 3.0, 0.2 and 1.0 million barrels of oil every day respectively, and their per-capita GDP are above US$35,000 - about three times the Malaysian figure.

They tax their fuels rather than subsidise. In comparison, the corresponding figures for Nigeria, Egypt and Venezuela are US$2,200, US$5,400 and US$12,800. Kuwait and UAE might boast a high per-capita GDP, but this is due to the high oil price. Their economic structures are far less advanced than the first group of nations I mentioned.

What about history? Venezuela has a per-capita GDP roughly equal to that of West Germany 45 years ago. Now the ratio is 1:3. The nations Wan Azizah mentioned have a long history of oil exports yet their economic development is far from spectacular.

Do we want to follow the path of advanced economy, or contract the Dutch Disease ?

On Ensuring our oil bounty is not a curse

Just Another Average Malaysian: I think the writer has hit the nail on the head on how to manage the goose that lays the golden egg. It is true that the Norwegians are blessed with responsible governance that has quietly but surely produced the wealthy country that they have now. Also with a little foresight, they have ensured the wealth of future generations.

With 0% unemployment, beautiful landscapes and fresh unpolluted air to offer, I, too, would brave the high petrol price besides not having to suffer the corruption and bad management of our country.

I most definitely protest the recent sharp price increase in petrol/diesel prices with or without rebates but also hesitate to welcome price reductions promised by the opposition without further explanations on the sustainability of their plan.

Both seem to be without much thought and very short-term solutions to me. I wish someone who is governing or going to govern would read the above article and seriously think about it. With our natural resources, Malaysia has a chance to be great so turn this into a reality please.

On PM: Understand reasons for fuel hike

Garry Khoo: I think our PM having a ‘honeymoon time overdose’. His reasons will only be accepted by kindergarten students. We are not stupid. We work hard to earn our penny a day so don’t expect us to accept such simplistic reasons.

Do you think it's as simple as that and you can be a leader of a country? Please let some other person with a better potential take over. We are really reluctant to go back to kindergarten, thank you.

ADS