the ultimate playground for bloggers
first, passengers on new buses are compulsary to wear seat belts, now this?!?
moments after 5pm today, prime minister datuk seri abdullah ahmad badawi announced the new fuel price of rm2.70 per litre effective midnight tonight, a 78 sen hike or 40 percent increase. now instead of rm70 to fill up my tank, i’ll need rm100 -.-”
I was looking thru my Nuffnang analytics and saw that one of the keywords that leads visitors to my blog is Josephine Ipoh And so I google and see my blog is in which ranking zzz And I’m in #9 wtf. Disappointed, I checked out what’s so geng about the first few blogpost *kiasu to [...]
For the past few months, I was deprived of ji mui time and fear of losing my femininity wtf. So I was over the moon when Ming invited me to Ipoh for dimsum and some shopping. Though Sitiawan & Ipoh are fairly near but I haven’t ate dimsum yet *shame on me Was too happy [...]
To Sitiawan zzz. Guess who I went out with? The only person would think of taking pics like this is… My Soulmate!! Haven’t seen her since since… CNY! Though we Skype everyday but it’s not the same till you meet face-to-face. Ming is known for her jaw-dropping gossips/ university-related drama. And I contribute err… er… [...]
June 4th, 2008 at 9:43 PM
yea…its hitting everyone hard…i could expect unpleasant stuffs will be hurl the ruling govt’s way…..hope things will be still under control….
June 5th, 2008 at 1:22 PM
the msian govt, what are they even thinking of doing such drastic all of a sudden. MY gdness…pretty mad. I hope ppl will adapt to it like what’s happening here in aust ( though the raise in petrol price happen gradually (not as gradual as u would think)).
June 6th, 2008 at 3:54 PM
well, look at it this way, fuel price is still pretty cheap compared to other countries.. i’m not saying that i’m happy with the hike in fuel price but it is reasonable in a sense… though what i think they could do better with is that they should have planned it better… made it gradual… at least ppl wont be jumping in their graves or something… hahaha…
i sometimes think that even a bunch of kids would do a better job then these bunch up there right now…
clowns betul..
June 6th, 2008 at 7:26 PM
i think we ought not compare to other countries. hello, other country earning power is bigger compare to us. our food price is increasing as well.plus our country is a country which has oil itself unlike singapore and thailand. maybe this sudden increase has got to do with the government ‘punishing’ us in a way…. as a result of the recent elections. anyway people, we better work harder than before….hehe…earning more $$!!
June 6th, 2008 at 11:33 PM
ahh at least our bunch here are still rational la….outside i heard alot of rants, saying things as if our PM sorta has control over the global crude oil price…and started politicizing the issue by saying if weve voted for the opposition….fuel wudve remained at the same low price as before…utter bullcrap….there are lotsa tards out there….
lcm…i dont think they are punishing us la…its more like a situation where the govt hav to choose between keeping the fuel cheap or keeping the food cheap….so govt chose food over fuel….but the thing is…..if…big if the people pass down the rising costs of fuel onto the prices of food….wouldnt that render this whole initiative pointless??
but then again….if all the moolah is used for fuel…the govt would not hav enuff fundings to secure the stability of food prices….and if food prices are beyond control… would shake the whole nation to its core…
well the way i see it….its a reality check for msians whus been living under ‘false’ economy and it is time to be realistic…..$30 per barrel days were over….and we should all take a good look at the way were living n try to be more thrifty….and like chianming said….we should all pickup our game….work harder / increase productivity…..instead of breaking down and join some street demonstration
June 6th, 2008 at 11:51 PM
I have to agree with CM on the fact that our country deserves cheap oil. I find it hard to accept for the fact that our country is producing oil, and yet we pay so much for it. TheStar published a table that shows the price of oil in other oil-producing country, and Nigerians are paying so much less for oil compared to us. Are we really poorer than the Nigerians that we cannot afford subsidized fuel?
What the government should do, if they want to reduce fuel subsidy is to lift reduce the tax on cars as well. Compared to “other” countries, we’re paying a ridiculous amount for our cars. Plus, I remember the government saying that fuel won’t be increased till August or September, if my memory is right.
I think the main reason for this problem that we’re facing now is due to corruption. They have sucked us dry of our money and when there’s nothing more to suck, they raise the price. Seriously, increasing fuel by 40% overnight could lead to a spiral effect of hyper inflation. Worse, if the economy collapse, we’ll be stuck in stagflation. I pray that Malaysia survives 2008.
June 7th, 2008 at 2:55 PM
well i think thats where ur abit worng dong….our countries petroleum production is no where near nigerias / venezuela’s / saudi’s…..our petroleum export is (i think) less , if not the same as our manufacturing sectors’…so by no means it can justify that we should enjoy cheap oil like the opec countries…..
im not sure bout the car industry tho….and ive read from certain sources that the car taxes are no longer like how it used to be and the reason why cars are still exp in msia….the prices of cars are still high coz the company doesnt wanna drop their prices so abruptly that it would cause the owners of their cars to be uber pissed…
June 7th, 2008 at 7:22 PM
I don’t think the tax on the cars are lowered at all. They lowered the import duty but jack up the excise duty a few years back, so it’s square one. I know that our petroleum production ain’t that much, but the fact remains that we are an exporter. Also, raising the petrol price by 40% and expecting other prices in the market to remain constant is pure stupidity.
June 8th, 2008 at 12:54 PM
im not too sure bout the cars…but according to some press release by the govt….its said that the proton is now competing head to head without the govt’s protection….thats why im not that sure….coz everything that the govt says…we should take it with a pinch of salt…or mayb a bucket….i said this based on this article…..
http://paultan.org/archives/2008/05/15/pm-government-has-stopped-protecting-proton/
but i disagree on ur take on the petrol thingie….so does it mean that we should get a huge chunk of subsidy for our electronic goods as well?? since we are the worlds largest exporter of semiconductor and oh yea subsidy for those pirated optical discs too….and at the same time…by doing so we will be channeling much needed funds from things that are very essential….ie medical cover, food security & etc……and btw our petrol is still subsidized
…..rm0.30 per litre….peanuts i know…but i think that should be quite proportionate to our oil production…..and we havnt got petrol taxes like what the aussies over here have….increased petrol prices + taxes….now thats messed up
altho petrol is an integral part of life but i dont think its wise for msians to life in this ‘bubble of false reality’…..one thing tht i still appreciate is altho we are an importer of rice…our rice is still much cheaper (thanks to the subsidy of course) than Thailand ….whom u all should know by now is the worlds largest exporter of rice…
June 9th, 2008 at 1:06 PM
LOL. This would make a good topic for debate. Anyhow, this is a wake-up call to all malaysians. It’s time to work harder…and take less breaks + leave. =P
Anyways, I support the hike in petrol prices. I know the government could at least make the hike “less noticeable”, but we’d still be feeling the hit sooner or later, whether we like it or not. And from the looks of fuel prices in the world, looks like their prediction is kinda right; that sources of crude oil is dwindling. This would encourage everyone to use alternative fuel. Look around: some people are changing to NGV. Pretty soon, hybrids will rule the roads. Actually, hybrids are already on the road, but insufficient support from all parties is making it hard to break the market. Hopefully this increase in overall global fuel prices would prompt a tremendous support for alternative fuels. Look at the hybrid now: 150 miles to the gallon compared to our current petrol vehicles with about 35 miles to the gallon. You save a lot of money and refuel less.
Also, I don’t want to live in a world where it is polluted and wreaked with daily natural disasters, so you see my reasoning for my support of increasing petrol prices.
In short, I just hope that the government’s reduction in subsidy will be allocated to other sections…or even better: reduce taxes! =)
June 9th, 2008 at 8:56 PM
PS, now that you brought in the issue of rice, let me shed some light into the issue. The reason behind cheaper rice in Malaysia (at present) is because of poor quality and subsidy. In the past 2 months, the price of rice in Thailand increased by about RM1 per kilo, thus surpassing the price of rice in Malaysia. However, do remember that we’ve been paying at a price above market rate for rice for over 10 years at least. Subsidies has been given, not to consumers, but to inefficient rice producers across the country. The government taxed rice imports from Thailand to prop up the price of rice in Malaysian market to support local farmers. This is exactly the same screwed up policy used by EU to ‘protect’ their farmers.
However, this ‘noble’ intention of the government is not so noble after all. To them, not all rice farmers are equal. The rice farmers in Sekinchan produce one of the highest yield per hectare every year around the world, mind you. 13 metric tonne vs national average of 4 metric tonne per hectare. But they are forced to sell price below market level at times and Bernas even barred them from selling rice to other states in Malaysia. Why is this so? Well, check out who are the farmers in Sekinchan and the farmers in other states. So tell me, do we deserve our rice to be expensive after we’ve been paying so much more for rice in the past 10 years?
Your electronic goods argument doesn’t hold water. That is the manufacturing sector, and it requires resources from the primary sector of the economy. We do not have most of the natural resources need for the manufacturing, thus how can we sell those things cheaply? In most countries where there’s natural resources, the price of those items in that particular country is cheaper (they ought to be).
I really disagree with the way they make an increase of 40%. It’s way too much in one jump. Look what they are doing now, coming up with various knee-jerk plans to ‘cushion’ the blow. Might as though not do the increase in the first place. Or at least increase it gradually.
June 9th, 2008 at 11:33 PM
ah dong…but from what i see here…ppl are smuggling rice across the border to thailand from msia…so that should mean taht rice is cheaper over here isnt it? so for the worlds largest export of rice to do that…it only implies that our rice is heavily subsidized…im not sure bout the past tho….mayb its more like removing the petrol subsidy and use it to subsidize rice? erm if like u said we shud hav cheap rice after all these years of having expensive rice….and at the same time still having a rm1.90 petrol…i dont think the govt would be able to sustain that….
the electonics bit….what im saying is….in terms of export revenue….its the same, if not more than the crude oil’s….so if say we generate so much from petroleum, and we should use that profit to subsidize the petrol, shouldnt we do the same for electronics too? coz its generating as much revenue (when talking bout revenue…dont they mean by deducting all the costs already? so the import of semi-processed goods/ raw material should be accounted for already?)
oh well im not an expert in economics…..but im just frustrated by this ‘protective’ policies that the govt has…..it creates a sense of complacency, and that complacency would somehow affect the ppls productivity….ppl dont need to work as hard…as things come by so easily…and cheaply….as its all subsidized…at times ppl have grown to think that these subsidies are divine right…sth that shouldnt be taken away….
its about time for the subsidies to go….but one thing i disagree is that they say they would do a monthly petrol revision aka announcing price increases every month (judging by the current trend of oil market) and i think that would make them look really bad in the eyes of the ppl…. since the majority thinks that global crude oil price is control by pak lah alone…instead i wud prefer the govt to leave ti for the market to adjust its price accordingly with the govt monitoring it in the background….like how u would hav those big price-of-the-day sign on every petrol pump (just like in US/Oz)….
and dong…all the knee jerk reaction to buffer the effects…i thought they are good….now with the funds freed up by the petrol, the farmers can now enjoy subsidized fertilizer (prev. non existent…according to thestar), mass injection into the public transport n etc etc….and i think with that its more specific…targetting only the needy instead of just whacking the funds blindly….dont u think?
oh btw again bout the petrol bit…it involved high costs too….and petronas doesnt explore the oil fields alone, it ‘imports’ lotsa help from those multinational oil company and they dont get all the money from sales…they got only a small chuck, the big chunk would go to the state govt would get paid royalty and to those multinational companies as their share…..well im just using my kindergarten economics knowledge here… but cant we consider those as ‘raw materials’ like the electronics industry? i
June 9th, 2008 at 11:45 PM
oh bout the sekinchan issue…i tot everyone have to sell their rice to bernas….including ‘other states rice farmers’ (OSRF)…..i tot that is to standardize the rice prices….a central management of the nations rice production and control of rice prices…..or did bernas force the sekinchan farmers to sell it at a lower price….compared to the OSRF?? if every rice farmer is selling it at the same below market price rice…i dont see theres any issue with that…..its just the sekinchan fellows showing their ‘jaundice-spirit’ of hard work…. XD
if theres a different price for the sekinchan fellows…now thats messed up…but at the same time if they are treated in that way but still keeping quiet and could only get the same amount of profit as OSRF by working twice as hard….thats somewhat dumb too…as the ‘force’ is so strong with the opposition….they shudve raised the issue and im sure things will get fixed….
June 11th, 2008 at 11:53 AM
well, what have i told you? watching news last night just showed me one thing: malaysians are not exposed enough. why am i saying this? it’s because of the poll that they had last night…they asked the question, “Should the Malaysian government increase the import of hybrid cars?” Obviously, this should be a astounding YES! but NO! the result was that 68% said NO! what the hell are they thinking…
just a rant…i just can’t believe how anyone could say NO to an alternative to their fuel crisis…
June 12th, 2008 at 4:53 PM
in reference to why fuel price has gone up and whether or not the government has gone loco, admittedly for a crude oil producing country, we’re paying hell lot for our fuel. but the reason the government is raising it so suddenly is because it is a cautious measure against the impending recession. their hopes are to be able to stabalize malaysian economic status once the recession really hits.
everything else would of course be more expensive as well as they’re trying to raise the standards of living and then stabalizing the ringgit in the global market.
and then again, the talks of abolising tols on all highways are seeming more real day by day. for the people who travel constantly, no more tols means so much more as compared to those who do not travel.
its not that i agree with how the government is doing things, but there is reason as to why they are doing the things that they are doing albeit in a dumbass way.
oh and dont believe what the papers tell u. the star is government controled. so is nst and berita harian. everything goes through their system and gets edited to suit them before it gets published.
June 13th, 2008 at 4:15 PM
@ben…what?! how come no one supports hybrid cars?? i think the whole world is embarking on this new hybrid thing and msia still laggin behind?? well sometimes i do think that msians are a dumb bunch….thats why its reflected by having a dumb govt in charge…
June 14th, 2008 at 11:30 AM
hahaha…yeah…that i have to agree with you, pithsoh! oh well, we’ll just sit back and see what will happen if they do continue. on the other hand, the poll might be sabotaged by proton workers…proton and hybrid…hmm… =)
June 15th, 2008 at 12:04 AM
ahhh i think gen2 already got a hybrid model…a prototype that was featured on some motorshow….i think its australian one…or the european one….
but i got the hots for electric cars….the tesla car was insane….0-100kmph is the same as most sports cars…..sans CO2….
anywya ben r u in msia now???
June 15th, 2008 at 1:08 AM
dang…everywhere else but malaysia. no airbags in the malaysian model…no hybrid in the malaysian model…great right.
yup yup. am in malaysia now. looking after your utopia account. =P
June 15th, 2008 at 9:26 PM
ahhh issit??? whoops sorry…at 1st i tot i wudnt hav internet connection…..but i do…..okok i will take over once im back in msia….thnx yea….wait…how long will u be in msia for??? any chance of coming back to stw???
June 16th, 2008 at 3:46 PM
hahaha….no probbies. well, will be in malaysia till the 20th, went back to sitiawan that day, went out with jym and guru ong! so yea, will be going back for sure again before i leave. =)
June 18th, 2008 at 11:01 AM
ahhhh plz broadcast it ove here….if ur coming to stw ahhh…..