The 'tsunami' fuel hike

If the BN government wants to put the fuel price at the market price of RM4 per litre, then they must do the following first or simultaneously.
1. Make Petronas accounts for the past 30 years (audited) public so that the rakyat knows where the monies have gone. Be accountable.

2. Take over all the tolled highways and scrap all toll booths. Make the highway concession agreement public. Punish the ministers and officials involved in signing these lopsided agreements. Ask the toll operators to pay compensation to the rakyat.

3. All BN cabinet members, CMs, MBs, excos, senators, government top brass including those at GLCS must use small cc vehicles and sell off those posh and big cc cars.

4. Erase corruption. Compel all BN office-bearers and government top brass and their families to declare their assets and make it public.

5. Fix the public transport system. Najib said this wou;d be done when he increased the petrol price but it has never materialised.

6. All lopsided agreements with independent power producers must be reviewed.

7. Those private companies (and GLCs) which have been given a monopoly must contribute 40-60% of their revenue to a special fund to finance research on alternative fuel sources.

if there is no subsidy, what is the government going to do with the RM56 billion saved a year. It should outline its plans on how the money is to be spent. Otherwise, the BN-puteras will come out with all sorts of projects a la Monsoon Cups, new Airbus for the PM etc and squander all the money.

The ast time the petrol price was increased in 2007, the BN government promised to improve public transportation. We have yet to see this happening.

Why should gas supplied to the IPPs be subsidised and yet the IPPs reap billions of ringgit from taxpayers and consumers? The IPPs signed unfair one-sided agreements with TNB and we have to pay for that blunder now. Fourthly, it is not the price of petrol that it is the issue. It is the purchasing power of our money.

In UK petrol is GBP1.15 and Singapore, it is S$2.152. In percentage terms, these prices are relatively cheap compared to their currencies and higher income levels. Also, the UK, Singapore and even Hong Kong have excellent public transport systems where more than 50% of their populations use public transport to go to work against 10% in Kuala Lumpur

The government should improve the quality of diesel sold here. Diesel-powered cars nowadays are fuel efficient and as a result, more than 50% of cars sold in Europe are diesel-powered. Savings of 50% can be achieved using diesel engines.

The government should given tax incentives for ‘green’ cars which are less polluting and more fuel-efficient like what they do in the UK. Dual fuel/electric cars should be encouraged using tax incentives. Seventhly, the government should give road tax rebates for people using the cars only on weekends and public holidays. This would encourage people to use public transport to work.

APs for the import of cars should be auctioned and the money collected - which runs into the billions - can be used to build up public transport like providing more buses, LRT's and trams.

Taxpayers have a right to know where the subsidy will eventually be diverted. I am afraid that this huge sum of money will be misused and benefit only those BN cronies.

I suggest the government set up an independent body to monitor this money and channel it towards improving our public transportation. I don’t think anybody in a right mind would want to drive his or her car 2-3 hours back and forth every day to make ends meet.

If the BN government can’t do all of the above, all MPs must support Pakatan Rakyat and let Anwar Ibrahim be the new PM. He will have new ways to handle this problem.

excerpts from malaysiakini