Fuel Crisis! So what now?

Recently the Government delivered another blow to the Rakyat by increasing the price of fuel. This of course affects everyone whether you own a car, motorcycle or just uses public transportation. This is because everything uses fuel in one way or another and even if you don't own car or motorcycle, you still have to pay for higher fares for taxi and buses very soon. On the one hand it is good to see that our Government is finally reducing the oil subsidy so that the rakyat will learn to change their subsidy mentality. However, the only problem now is that are our standard of living or salary earnings are not the same as the rest of the world? Ok lets just take singapore for instance. A retail shop assistant would earn about SGD1,000 to SGD1,500 per month. Food and drinks per meal in hawker stalls are averaging about SGD5-8. And when they go to teh supermarket to get basic items like Dynamo Detergent it cost SGD8-9 per bottle while for the same item here in Malaysia its like RM18-20 per bottle. Bear in mind that Malaysian Shop Assistant We have been seeing a steady rise in our cost of living but the one thing we failed to see is the steady rise in salaries for most people. The same excuses are always used such as no profit, times are bad, slow performance, etc. So it is now a vicious cycle because things seems to be getting from bad to worse. People cannot afford to spend more and hence the economy is not going to improve soon. Inflation is definitely on the rise because our Ringgit is buying less than it use to. In the end, the Rakyat will suffer yet again. We may have been told that our inflation rate will hit 5-6% this year but personally it feels more like hitting 10%.

So the Government said they will spend whatever they can save to improve public transportation, to help the hardcore poor, etc. The question I think we should ask is when will this happen and how will the funds be allocated. I am sure in the next few months the Government will be awarding new contracts to upgrade our public transport and all that. But how will the funds be awarded and to whom? Will these be done by way of open tenders? Will the Government streamline all the public transport services into one system whereby a person buying an "all day ticket" can use them for our buses, trains and monorails? But before the Government does that, the whole public transport industry needs to come under Government control so that there will be no private entity that can monopolize the whole system. Perhaps the Parliament should be put in charge with monitoring the situation so that it will be fair and just for all. Every MP can have a say in how things are done. After all, the Rakyat chose you, the MP, for a reason and that is to serve the Rakyat.

Take the case of East Malaysia, the public transport there are almost non existence. There are bus services but not they are not regular at all. So if the Rakyat wishes to rely on public transport there, I cannot imagine how efficient they would be in their work if they cannot even determine what time they can get to work or move from one place to another during working hours. As for taxis, good luck to anyone trying to flag a taxi down. One would have to spot them on the road first otherwise one would have to call their center to see if any taxi wants to pick you up. Oh lets not forget the taxi meters, in SARAWAK I am sure these taxis have them but they are probably brand new because no one ever switches it on. Until today, I have not heard of anyone in Kuching every paying their taxi fares through the taxi meter. In KK it is more organized, because some taxis actually use them so at least the Rakyat knows that they are paying a fair price.

Well since we are on the hot topic of fuel crisis, I wonder when will the Government make it public the accounts of Petronas. Since the fuel belongs to the Rakyat, we should have the right to know how these monies are spent. The other day, it was stated by Petronas that the cost of oil exploration has gone up tremendously. So won't it be prudent for the Rakyat to see it for themselves how these costs are incurred? Maybe salaries for the Directors and CEO should be reviewed or perhaps the some administrative cost cutting measures should be undertaken. Perhaps contracts being awarded should be made public tenders and should be scrutinize by a select committee which should include a few representatives from PR. I think this will only happen when our Government changes hand.