At breakfast at the Seremban main market this morn, where I used to meet a band of mostly senior Serembanknights for normal coffee and bread&butter (no kaya even!) -- the price rising 10sen per cuppa a few times the past one year-- I was furious when the NST frontpage subhead caught my sleepy eyes:
We don’t want people to suffer later, says DPM
WoW, I exclaimed to meself on first reaction -- miracle of miracles, our national leaders are being kind and generous to the people, for once! I have become immune to jumping for joy when reading statements from the ministers led by PR-savvy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak because there is always the "untold" story hiding the truths behind any goodies they hand out.
So also with Huhyiddin Yassin this time, but he outdoes himself by pulling in what I term "extraneous" issues to hide the "truth". The highlighted portions (BOLDED THUS...) are mine, and Desi's, alone. As I have been writing just a few days ago, the DPM is spewing crab in preparing the Rakyat for an impending price increase of petroleum and related products -- the rumour I hear is RON95 will shoot up another 20sen per litre.
Please read the full report headed
Subsidy review necessary
which I am copying from NST Online just the "relevant sections", okay! I don't want t be party to reproducing what essentially is "bullshitting" by a DPM who is not telling us the full story about fuel subsidies and the need to raise the pump prices...
Okay, Idris Jalan pulled in from the corporate sector to become a minister specialising in economic and business I gas -- ooops, Desi's guess! -- he was the first Minister to warn that Malaysia would go bankrupt very soon should the country continue the old ways of providing subsidies, always on the uptrend.
Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said, as reported by the ever-compliant-non-questioning NST, "... as a reliable government, it must manage development and the economy well to ensure the people did not need to shoulder a worse burden in future.
Then he roped in the "inernational" connections -- to show he also follows CNN, BBC and CCTV even? (Desi's THINKING ALOUD, STILL ALLOWED, according to Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi my BUMmer taiko! -- to warn of an impending petrol price increase because the government had to be responsible.
Ah, a dire waring that follows should the "subsidy review ..." not be done,quoting the benevolent-sounding fellow ...
Muhyiddin, who is also Umno deputy president, said good economic and financial management would ensure the country did not follow in the footsteps of several countries in Europe, like Greece and Portugal, which needed bailouts after facing economic crises.
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He said the government wanted the see the nation’s fiscal deficit, which stood at 5.4 per cent of gross domestic product now, reduced through subsidy rationalisation.
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Desi's focus today is on the following paragraph, so I will give it five-star rating!
*****
“However, the system is not sustainable in the long run, especially now when the prices of items like oil are increasing. For example, we will have to spend as much as RM21 billion this year on oil subsidies.” *****
Read more: Subsidy review necessary http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/Subsidyreviewnecessary/Article/#ixzz1NLdnbOzz
DESIDERATA: I will just tell it to Muhyiddin's face that in the past few years, the world oil prices have been trending upwards, from the range of USD40-60 per barrel five yaers ago to above the USD100 per barrel mark the past year.
And every time the world price rises, Malaysia gets a windfall,via Petronas, because MALAYSIA IS A NETT PRODUCER AND A NETT EXPORTER OF PETROLEUM. And always remember, our OIL EXPORTS ARE "SWEETS" WHICH ENJOY A PRICE PREMIUM IN THE WORLD MARKET.
So dear Deputy Prime Minister, don't keep on harping on the "subsidy" element and maintaining elegant silence on where the increased and increasing Petronas revenues and profits by the billlions are going!
I am not privi to the Petronas accounts, but just my educated estimate that while Muhyiddin might be right in disclosing about the "RM21billion on oil subsidies", the profits that accrue on the other hand to Malaysia from the national oil resource would be like USD21billion!
So my dear DPM Muhyiddin, sounding so concerned and kindhearted, can you persuade the national oil corporatipon to share with the Rakyat the windfall the past five years?
But let Muhyiddin be reminded that his references to "Greece and Portugal" being path-breaking to Malaysia might just be self-fulfilling and prove IDRIS JALA right. But Malaysia's bankrptsy will not be due to rising subsidies -- IT IS DUE TO BARISAN NASIONAL GOVERNMENT'S CONTINUED WILD SPENDING WAYS ON MEGA PROJECTS, ESPECIALLY ON MILITARY HARDWARE AND WHITE-ELEPHANT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS. Not to speak of the rising trend in corruption with the MACC and Police just doing lip-service according to their political masters' instruction. So the UMNO leaders and compliant MCA, MIC and minor compoent parties' cronies will continue their SEE NO EVIL, HEAR NO EVIL and SPEAK NO EVEIL. Just do it eh!? -- so all the daylight robbers and their cronies continue to get their 30% cut?
So Desi's humble closing Q: Dear DPM and PM too, what are you doing about the rising wastages and leakages from the Government's coffers, so well documented annually by the Auditor-General's reports, yet these reports are left gathering dirt on the shelf. Desi seems to discern your "But who really cares?"-- that seems to be DPM Muhyiddin and colleagues' attitude in my reading. Their mantra to the Rakyat: Just tighten your belt!
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What follows is a recent post of Saturday, May 21, 2011 now reprised because it's HIGHLY RELEVANT; my only regret I don't have the "detailed figures" and thus forced to write in a general layman's way. But the Rakyat at large of 70-80 per cent are laypeople, Yes!
Subsidies Is Just HALF the Story!
Desi has heard the Government's rationalisation of having to cut the subsidies element in many utilities to "explain away" the rising costs of living encountered by the people. The Rakyat is being told ONLY HALF THE STORY as far as our nation's rcihest oil resource -- petroleum and its related product, gas -- is concerned.
First, PM Najib Razak uged the people to tighten their belt. His prosperous wife Datin Rosmah Mansor chirps in with similar motherly-sounding appeals, but we all all it's crab -- she's given a budget of RM110million to run a programme named Permata for socalled "young giftted children", and she runs up huge travelling bills representing Malaysia overseas as if she held the Foreign Minister's portfolio. And continuong to justify prestigious sounding programmes selling her First Lady status as if she has special IQ to offer other countries ladies of similar status BUT NOT BRAGGING IT!
This is pulling "wool over the people's eyes" -- and the Deputy Finance Minister Dr Awang is joining in the chorus of government's lamenters, but doing not much to help the suffering Rakyat.
From The Star Online, viz:
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Saturday May 21, 2011
Awang: Support move to reduce subsidy
BACHOK: Deputy Finance Minister Senator Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin has urged the people to support the Government in its initiative to reduce mounting subsidy bills, which had shot up from RM10.3bil last year to RM20.58bil this year.
He added that the Government would conduct a detailed study to ensure that any move to review the subsidy would not burden the poor.
Speaking to reporters after meeting residents of Kampung Telong here yesterday, he said the results would be announced once feedback had been received from agencies conducting the study.
He was commenting on fears, especially in the rural areas, of rising costs following the possibility of subsidy revision which includes the subsidy for RON95 petrol.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had previously said RM18bil of this year’s subsidy was petroleum related compared to RM8bil last year.
“The increase is too steep ... no country would be willing to shoulder such a burden,” Awang Adek said. — Bernama
DESIDERATA: Every time PETRONAS -- the company supposedly to hold the nation's resource IN TRUST for the Rakyat -- announced its annual revenues and profits, it has been an uptrending line for the past five years since this Blog started tomonitor the figures. BUT DID/DO THE RAKYAT SEE ANY BENEFITS ACCRUING FROM "OUR" NATION'S RESOURCE?
NO! You know why?
Every time the world oil prices goes up, the BN government keeps harping on the "subsidy" element on the imported oil which we use, then justify a subsidy cut to justify the prices AT THE PUMP BEING RAISED.
Desi has been lamenting every year that the BN government is plainly BULL-SHITTING US justifying the subsidy cut, hence followed by pump price rise.
The OTHER HALF of the story NOT TOLD, but quite lone-voice Desi hear pushing till his voiz goes hoarse -- like the desert sun is hurting me through the skin! -- is that whatever the subsidy element, say x, that is reduced, PETRONAS GETS A REVENUE, and PROFIT INCREASE!, say Y, where Y IS GREATER THAN x.
If fact, Desi stands corrected by recalling that a Reuters report he once read that for every USD1 rise for a barrel of oil, Malaysia stood to gain like USD1billion or is it 2 BILLION USD! ( searched my email and blog archives, could NOT retrieve these numbers -- any one out there who can help me, please put in under COMMENTS, please! Endless rounds of oil -- oops, tehtarik! -- on Desi for the favour.
That's the reality of world oil price increase -- NegaraKu is a NET GAINER, You know WHY?
Because as I keep drumming into the Finance Minister and Deputy Finance Ministers' hardrock heads that MALAYSIA IS A NET PRODUCER AND NET EXPORTER OF PETROLEUM.
Furthermore, our OIL EXPORTS ARE OF A HIGHER GRADE THAN OIL IMPORTS -- hence they call it sweets, not for no reason! -- AND COMMAND A PREMIUM PRICE.
So everything being equal, every time there is a world oil price increase,we should be given a REDUCTION in pump oil price...IF PETRONAS PASSES ON THE HIGHER REVENUES/PROFITS TO BENEFIT THE PEOPLE!
I remind our ER that Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim in fact promised during the GE12 campaign that BARISAN RAKYAT, SHOULD IT BE ELECTED AT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LEVEL, WOULD REDUCE THE OIL PPRICES AT THE PUMP THE DAY AFTER TAKING OVER FROM THE BN GOVERNMENT.
He reiterated the same promise when campaiging at the recent SARAWAK STATE ELECTION.
Anwar knows what he can, or cannot deliver, BECAUSE AS A FORMER DPM and FINANCE MINISTER< HE KNOWS THE REAL SITUATION AT PETRONAS. The current BN government is hiding the real story from the Rakyat!
I will end with a prayer of desperation...
O'Mighty God, How much loner can we tolerate these BN ministerial liars and their wives and their lackeys?
Protect our nation's natural riches, Save us from daylight, and midnight, robbers!
AMEN/AMIN
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