There is a limit to everything. Often quoted, never practised. When it comes to living conditions, everyone's favourite public enemy #1 is (drum roll, please) the Government. When one reads the plethora of causes often pinned on the Government, one cannot help but feel a tinge of sympathy for the Parliament dwellers. Not that they do not enjoy shooting themselves in the foot. This is one Government that is about as PR savvy as a Hilbilly Redneck in a game of lawn bowling.
Which begs the question: why does the Government keep stumbling over the fuel hike issue? And why are people behaving as though the Government is the one stop blame-and-solution centre for all their petrol woes? I have to state before I proceed further that I'm no pro-Government brown nose like all Malaysian journalists (read VK Chin among others). Neither am I a firebrand opposition blogger who hatches conspiracy theory after conspiracy theory. On the risk of sounding pompous, I feel that I'm one of the dwindling number of intelligent Malaysians still in existence. And that is no mean feat, I can tell you. This is not one country which celebrates intelligence or insightful thinking. Neither does it propagate constructive opinion-making and feasible reasoning. But I'm not going to get sidetracked, so back to the gist of the matter at hand.
The price of crude oil has risen. Fact. The price of commercial fuel has, as a result, gone up. Fact. The Government has been mismanaging funds on frivolous spending. Fact. The Government should cut down subsidies in almost all industries. Fact.
In this fuel hike maelstrom, we find the Government, Petronas, Cabinet Ministers and the people. It is an open secret that the Government spends money more foolishly than a woman in a shoe shop. Malaysia is probably the only country with a thriving population of a species of endangered pachyderms, the White Elephants. And the pride of Malaysian architecture is not the Twin Towers, au contraire it is the Ivory Towers. Look up any anti-government blog or website and you'll be able to peruse the list of unnecessary projects funded by them. Petronas, the keepers of the nation's oil (and resulting wealth) has always been one of the most maligned corporations in Malaysia, depending on whom you speak to. Many praise Petronas for creating jobs; the counter criticism is that jobs are reserved for only one certain race. What many people can agree on is the shroud of secrecy cloaking Petronas' income and expenditure, though Petronas today claimed that their annual budget reports have been available for public perusal for the past 18 years.
Funny how publications have a habit of just appearing out of thin air here in Malaysia. I read a email sometime last week, and it gave a detailed account of the income received by Ministers. A cool RM 55,000+ a month, for doing nothing. This included free petrol, paid vacations, allowances for vacations, chauffeur services (free) and entertainment allowances. These are the same scoundrels who are busy urging us to 'change our lifestyles'. And the people? Headless chicken. Lacking knowledge on world issues, and completely ignorant of domestic economics, these little sheep spend almost every free hour slamming the Government for raising petrol prices, not increasing subsidies, increasing food prices, creating heavy rainfall (overheard) and allowing aliens to roam free (the Indonesian kind). Never one to reflect within, a typical Malaysian can spend weeks exhorting his colleagues to join him in demonstrating against the Government, yet at the same time wastes food and consumes a lot of petrol by driving a big car everywhere. The same chap who demands a rebate from the Government for the increase in fuel prices, yet uses the aforementioned rebate to shop in Metrojaya or Parkson.
What everyone has to realise is that we cannot depend on the Government in this time of high costs and low incomes. We have to take the bull by its horns, and not sit and wait for the clowns in the Cabinet to release more funds for public use. Funds are running short because holiday resorts in Europe are getting more and more expensive. Ask any Cabinet Minister and he'll tell you that he had to beg, borrow and steal to build his new Carrington-esque mansion in Bukit Tunku. He will also tearfully inform you that he has had to downgrade his frequent first class flights to business class.
Like us, the Ministers in the Government are also feeling the brunt of the petrol hike, so do bear that in mind and display a tad bit more sympathy towards these snivelling, lying parasites.
Which begs the question: why does the Government keep stumbling over the fuel hike issue? And why are people behaving as though the Government is the one stop blame-and-solution centre for all their petrol woes? I have to state before I proceed further that I'm no pro-Government brown nose like all Malaysian journalists (read VK Chin among others). Neither am I a firebrand opposition blogger who hatches conspiracy theory after conspiracy theory. On the risk of sounding pompous, I feel that I'm one of the dwindling number of intelligent Malaysians still in existence. And that is no mean feat, I can tell you. This is not one country which celebrates intelligence or insightful thinking. Neither does it propagate constructive opinion-making and feasible reasoning. But I'm not going to get sidetracked, so back to the gist of the matter at hand.
The price of crude oil has risen. Fact. The price of commercial fuel has, as a result, gone up. Fact. The Government has been mismanaging funds on frivolous spending. Fact. The Government should cut down subsidies in almost all industries. Fact.
In this fuel hike maelstrom, we find the Government, Petronas, Cabinet Ministers and the people. It is an open secret that the Government spends money more foolishly than a woman in a shoe shop. Malaysia is probably the only country with a thriving population of a species of endangered pachyderms, the White Elephants. And the pride of Malaysian architecture is not the Twin Towers, au contraire it is the Ivory Towers. Look up any anti-government blog or website and you'll be able to peruse the list of unnecessary projects funded by them. Petronas, the keepers of the nation's oil (and resulting wealth) has always been one of the most maligned corporations in Malaysia, depending on whom you speak to. Many praise Petronas for creating jobs; the counter criticism is that jobs are reserved for only one certain race. What many people can agree on is the shroud of secrecy cloaking Petronas' income and expenditure, though Petronas today claimed that their annual budget reports have been available for public perusal for the past 18 years.
Funny how publications have a habit of just appearing out of thin air here in Malaysia. I read a email sometime last week, and it gave a detailed account of the income received by Ministers. A cool RM 55,000+ a month, for doing nothing. This included free petrol, paid vacations, allowances for vacations, chauffeur services (free) and entertainment allowances. These are the same scoundrels who are busy urging us to 'change our lifestyles'. And the people? Headless chicken. Lacking knowledge on world issues, and completely ignorant of domestic economics, these little sheep spend almost every free hour slamming the Government for raising petrol prices, not increasing subsidies, increasing food prices, creating heavy rainfall (overheard) and allowing aliens to roam free (the Indonesian kind). Never one to reflect within, a typical Malaysian can spend weeks exhorting his colleagues to join him in demonstrating against the Government, yet at the same time wastes food and consumes a lot of petrol by driving a big car everywhere. The same chap who demands a rebate from the Government for the increase in fuel prices, yet uses the aforementioned rebate to shop in Metrojaya or Parkson.
What everyone has to realise is that we cannot depend on the Government in this time of high costs and low incomes. We have to take the bull by its horns, and not sit and wait for the clowns in the Cabinet to release more funds for public use. Funds are running short because holiday resorts in Europe are getting more and more expensive. Ask any Cabinet Minister and he'll tell you that he had to beg, borrow and steal to build his new Carrington-esque mansion in Bukit Tunku. He will also tearfully inform you that he has had to downgrade his frequent first class flights to business class.
Like us, the Ministers in the Government are also feeling the brunt of the petrol hike, so do bear that in mind and display a tad bit more sympathy towards these snivelling, lying parasites.
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