Petronas was giving an angpow to mark Merdeka...

Oops, Desi was only day-dreaming last night. I dreamt that the Prime Minister in his coming Budget had announced on behalf of Petronas that all Senior Citizens and every Malaysian household earning less than RM1,500 per month would get a Bonus of RM2,000 to be paid out of Petronas' fantastic net profits of RM54.5billion (Errata: should read RM46.4billion after I checked my files. BUT Desi could still be closer to the truth because at a recent dialogue between Bloggers and Petronas adviser Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad at Putrajaya, the former PM in reply to a question from YL Chong said he could not deny nor confirm whether some profits of Petronas could have been syphoned off somehere else!) FYE March 2007. I was also jumping with joy at the goodest news of the Merdeka 50th anniversary celebrations until someone pinched me, and I woke up to see my bubble of joy burst. No, Petronas has NEVER SHARED its rising harvests with us -- The Rakyat -- on our behalf the national oil corporation holds the trusteeship of NegaraKu's most precious natural resource, Black Gold, YES?


From Sunday Star yesterday,
September 2, 2007


‘Share profits with workers’

KUALA LUMPUR: The National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) is urging bank managements to have a heart and share their profits with workers.

NUBE general secretary J. Solomon said the banks made billions in profit annually and were not willing to share it with employees who had contributed to it.

“With banks making hefty profits, their CEOs/MDs, according to annual reports, get salary pay-outs of RM1mil on the average.

“This shows that the services of NUBE members, who are the first contact point of customers, are not appreciated and remunerated accordingly.

“The appeal for the salary increase is based on the strong growth of the country’s gross domestic product over the past five years and in view of the recent increase in the civil service salaries,” said Solomon.

NUBE is on a nationwide roadshow to meet more than 25,000 clerical and non-clerical members to explain work-to-rule procedures that will be implemented by the union from tomorrow.

The work-to-rule covers all procedural and administrative aspects, one of which is for staff members to check every currency note under the ultraviolet light to detect counterfeits.

The union has also insisted that the employers have to request in writing if they want their employees to work overtime, in accordance with the collective agreement.

Solomon said that although the move would affect customer service, the union had no alternative but to take this route.

“All cordial options through negotiations with the Malaysian Commercial Banks Association (MCBA) have come to naught,” he said, adding that he regretted any inconvenience caused to the customers.

The MCBA represents bank managements' interest nationwide.

NUBE is asking for a 30% increase in wages but MCBA, in return, wants to discontinue the two-month contractual bonus, Solomon said.

“This counter-proposal by MCBA effectively works out to be about 13% increase in wages,” Solomon added.

With the government salary adjustments, the pay for a civil service clerk starts at RM1,300, while clerks in banks start off at RM995.

“The rising costs of living due to the increase in global oil prices have affected NUBE members in the lower-income bracket,” Solomon added.

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From my own Post dated June 29, 2007 is extracted:

Petronas profits surge, but pump prices rise...

The National Oil Corporation, PETRONAS, continues its profitable run while the oil pipelines gush on, and on, but where does the ordinary Malaysian figure in these flows of God-blessed riches?

Oil is the country's natural resource -- but do we The Rakyat have any real taste of the past few years' burgeoning oil profits -- RM35.5bil in FYE March2005 followed by RM43.6 billion (NOW re-stated as RM43.1bil) in FYE March2006, culminating with the latest financial year ended March 31, 2007 in a bumper harvest of net profit of RM46.4billion.

Pak Lah must be grinning from ear to ear and may just continue with his never-ending honeymoon abroad. No wonder he could give a handsome pay rise to Government servants -- which I don't begrudge as long as they deliver and improve on productivity! And maybe the logical expectations the Prime Minister would splash on the 50th Merdeka celebrations to create another "feel good" factor, then call the next General Elections. Predictable.

But while profits keep surging, the pump prices also surge in tandem...

DOES THIS ADD UP?

Another predictable -- Petronas would just maintain its elegant silence like in the past two years.

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DESIDERATA: The Rakyat don't have a Union to represent them unlike Bank Emplyees. But we have the VOTE at every General Electin, with one coming very soon. I hope the people exercise their option wisely.

At the end of the day, after all the GE paraphernalia has been gathered up up the streets, you get the government you deserve.

Stop complaining for the following four to five years -- YOU BLARDY ARSED FOR IT if you return the Barisan Nasional election after election, and then complain!

IT'S TIME FOR CHANGE!