Look after Your People!

Governance (eh)

I got this sent to me (on Oil increase)
"sebelum 90 - RM 0.89
tahun 1990 - RM 1.10 (kenaikan RM 0.21)
01/10/2000 - RM 1.20 ( kenaikan RM 0.10)
20/10/2001 - RM 1.30 (kenaikan RM 0.10)
01/05/2002 - RM 1.32 ( kenaikan RM 0.02)
31/10/2002 - RM 1.33 (kenaikan RM 0.01)
01/03/2003 - RM 1.35 ( kenaikan RM 0.02)
01/05/2004 - RM 1.37 (kenaikan RM 0.02)
01/10/2004 - RM 1.42 ( kenaikan RM 0.05)
05/05/2005 - RM 1.52 (kenaikan RM 0.10)
31/07/2005 - RM 1.62 ( kenaikan RM 0.10)
28/02/2006 - RM 1.92 (kenaikan RM 0.30"

a. It was bandied in the media that the true non-subsidized price of petrol per litre should be RM2.50. And as the government is subsidizing at approximately RM21 billion per annum, we are able to consume it at RM1.92 per litre. No sir, hit me with RM2.50 per litre any day.

b. RM21,000,000,000 for 21 million Malaysian means the average fuel subsidy we are consuming works out to RM1,000.00 per Malaysian. Hey, and please do not return RM1,000.00 per Malaysian, too. And you know why, because that is not the true price of oil – we need to see the true price of oil, which will then set us free. (Now, freedom is a scary thought – let’s not go there).

c. Let us assume for one moment that there are 9 million vehicles on the road, including 5 million personal cars. Let us work out a more “socialist” subsidy, socialist, in the sense that subsidy must favour the down trodden, much like zakat and its intended recipients. Who is a miskin? Somebody says : an honest civil servant. I wanted to laugh, but somehow, I could not come to that.

d. So who is a civil servant? Let us not go far beyond the profession that must be highly respected yet very little rewarded financially – the teaching profession. And since teachers form the bulk of civil servants in Kelantan, that’s a good starting point. You see, in Kelantan, Kancils and Kelisas sell well, because the civil servants had had to save. Now, they still could not save. Let’s see the typical life of a teacher in Kelantan, vis a vis fuel consumption.

e. Home – School – Home - 25 kms (return trip). You see, the idea of living in Seremban and working in KL for a 140 km round trip does not appeal to them, $ wise of course. On annual basis, they teach for 250 days – Total kmetrage: 6,250 km, And add other masjid, holidays, etc - additional: 4,000 km

f. So let say : 10,000 kms per annum And let us not use Kelisa – We up-grade consumption level to a Wira 1.5, instead – to bring it to a general level throughout Malaysia. Let’s assume that a Wira 1.5 runs 16 kms to a litre. Which means that to run 10,000 kms, you need 10,000/16 = 625 litres.

g. So my proposal No. 1 is that the government find a way to pay a subsidy to each Malaysian for one car which is in his or her name. What is the subsidy that I want:
X = 625 litres x Actual price per litre - Old price; where, X is the subsidy, Actual price is the actual price and Old price, no need to go very far, just take the price when Pak Lah came into office : RM1.35 per litre.

h. So assuming the actual price is RM2.50, X will be RM1.15 x 625 = RM718.75 That’s all – for every one car owned by an individual in Malaysia. Assume, individuals (and first car only) of 2 million : What’s the subsidy : RM1.475 billion (Take note: at this point, there would still be RM19.525 billion to be accounted for).

i. What is the rationale for this proposal? i. Private transportation, for as long as public transportation is at this beautiful level, is a basic human right in Malaysia. The world we live in today is quite different from our world of 50 years ago when work, for many, means going somewhere 5kms or less from home. Now, it is at least 10 kms. ii. This proposal subsidizes that basic right, on one car for one car owner. So to qualify, one must own a car, and one gets subsidy for one car, and one car only. iii. Why so? A second car per person is a luxury, a personal choice. iv. Why at Wira level? Because, a Kompressor is a luxury, a personal choice. v. On the contrary, presently subsidy is across the board. A rich man who owns 7 cars; sends a driver on errands just because his Montblanc pen just dried out of ink, you get what I mean; a kiasu guy who decided to speed and litter on our roads. So how about it.

j. Proposal No. 2 is not really a specfic proposal, though. It simply deal with the fact that the Government need to ensure that prices of “necessities” do not sky-rocket. What are necessities? Not much actually – education (books, bus fare), food (rice, sugar and salt) etc. I do not think that it is a question one having to scrimp on expenditure when hit with fuel price increase. I think it is really trying to ensure that the basic necessities are still available at the levels before, that’s all. Beyond necessities, tell a guy to save and give a miss on some thing he really wants – do you reckon he would. Let me put it the other way – how many stop smoking after annual duty increases? Not many, I guess.