Friday, November 09, 2007

Umno Prepares Public For Hike In Fuel Prices

Malaysia's ruling party prepared the country on Thursday for a possible hike in fuel prices, a move that could erode public support for the government ahead of national elections.

Malaysia spends about 15 billion ringgit (US$4.5 billion; €3.0 billion) a year to subsidize retail prices of gasoline and diesel. The country is a net fuel exporter, but escalating global oil prices are pressuring the government to reduce the subsidies for the first time since February 2006.

Officials in the United Malays National Organization, the country's dominant political party, called Thursday for a review of subsidies to ensure that state funds can be channeled toward impoverished people who truly need financial aid.

"I believe the rich can pay the market price or slightly lower than market price" for gasoline, Khairy Jamaluddin, deputy chief of UMNO's youth wing, said in a speech at the party's annual congress. Khairy is also the son-in-law of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who reportedly told party delegates in a closed-door meeting earlier this week that fuel subsidies may soon be lowered.

Retail prices of gasoline, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas were raised by as much as 23 percent in February 2006, sparking a rise in inflation and a series of small-scale, opposition-led demonstrations.

Malaysia's retail fuel rates remain among the lowest in Southeast Asia, but authorities fear another price hike could provide political ammunition for the opposition in the next general elections, which are widely expected before the middle of next year, even though the government's mandate only expires in mid-2009.

Khairy said the government subsidizes a wide range of necessities, including water and agricultural goods, and the total subsidy bill this year could have been used to build 500,000 low-cost homes. "If subsidies are lowered, people will curse the government. But if we maintain the subsidies, we never hear a word of thanks for the government," Khairy said. "Whether we realize it or not, we have been subsidized from birth to death."

Khairy said it would not be feasible to abolish subsidies, but the system should be revamped so that poor people can continue to purchase necessities at lower prices, while those who can afford it should pay more. "The current system promotes wastage. Because we know fuel prices are so low, we tend to waste fuel," he said. (International Herald Tribune)

***** Tighten your belt folks!
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4 Comments:

Blogger chineng said...

"If subsidies are lowered, people will curse the government. But if we maintain the subsidies, we never hear a word of thanks for the government," Khairy said. "Whether we realize it or not, we have been subsidized from birth to death."
Hold it! This man seems to mean that the tax payers' money belongs to the ruling party. So the rakyaat should be on all fours to thank the ruling party for any subsidy that comes from the tax revenue.

1:10 PM GMT+8  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

UNITED KINGDOM PETROL PRICES
NOVEMBER 2007-11-07
HOW £1 (RM 7.00) /LITRE OF PETROL BREAKS DOWN
Value Added Tax : 14.89p = RM 1.04 per litre
Fuel Duty: 50.35p = RM 3.52 per litre
Production and delivery:
about 31p = RM 2.17 per litre
Retailers' earnings:
about 4p = RM 0.28 per litre
Total £1.00 = RM 7.01 per litre
Source: AA/Retail Motor Industry Federation

Thus even in the United Kingdom the cost of petrol and delivery, + retailers’ earnings costs only RM 2.45 per lite and all the rest RM 4.56 is for fuel duty and value added tax.

Remember there are no toll highways in the UK, so we are paying a lot to use the roads in Malaysia, even now when petrol alone cost us RM 1.92 per litre!

I wonder what the fuel and road toll price rises will be on 1 January 2007?

We are going to be poorer, that's for sure!

10:00 PM GMT+8  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i am all for removing subsidies but where are the savings going? to the pockets of the cronies aka 4.7 billion port klang free trade zone..umno division heads (3.0 million each)..hundread of millions for repairing new highways..300.0 million for cancellation of crooked bridge..and to sell government assets on the cheap to your cronies aka avenue assets to kali and his friends...and after wasting US100 billion as per estimate by a reputable invetsment house from US.. are you guys gonna throw away another US$100 billion under the pretext of protecting your religion, race and country so as to line up the pockets of your cronies?
i am all for a stable government but i cannot tolerate such massive plundering of the country's resources.

10:30 PM GMT+8  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

UMNO
Unless Money No Oil
Using Money No Openness
Usurping Money Never-ending Oppression
Un-ending Moronic Numskull Offensive
Undemocratic Malay No-hoper's Organisation
U May Not Oppose

9:52 AM GMT+8  

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