My friend sent me this article, and although I do not agree with everything he says and the way he expresses it, he has a point. So read, lets discuss and let me know what you think, remember bite the meat throw the bones into a pot to make soup…LOL anyway I also added my lot at the bottom. Enjoy!
From: umaro_sasquatch@hotmail.com
Dear All,Let us hear some facts…….
Subject: Durian in Malaysia is Much Cheaper than Singapore
In economy, dollar to dollar must be compared as apple to apple. Not
comparing like durian in M’sia is much cheaper than durian in Japan!! Of
course-lah, Japan is not durian producer!!! Comparing Malaysian durian with
Thailand durian make more sense!!WHAT IS NEVER MENTIONED IN Mainstream Media like NST/TheStar/Utusan/BH are
these facts….Malaysian PerCapita Income USD 5000
VS
Singaporean PerCapita Income USD 25000Further The Star made a comparison of prices in Thailand , Singapore and
Indonesia .For Thailand it is quoted at RM3.90/liter, however are they aware that in
Thailand new cars are cheaper than Malaysia by RM10,000. They pay only one
life time for their driving license. No renewal fee after that. Also that
goes for road tax as well. And do TheStar also aware that you can drive all
the way from Hadtyai to Bangkok on a six lane highway without paying any
Tolls!!!Whereas here in Malaysia you have to pay yearly renewal for road tax ,
driving license and TOLLS, TOLLS, TOLLS!!!For Singapore how can you quote RM 5.20. Please quote in Singapore Dollars
because they are earning in Sing Dollars. You might as well say Europeans
are paying RM10/liter. RM5.20/liter =3D Sing $ 2.20/liter, still cheaper than
Malaysia in view of fact that Singapore is not a crude oil exporter. Are you
saying that you fill up petrol in Singapore by paying Ringgit.In economy, dollar to dollar must be compared as apple to apple. Not
comparing like durian in M’sia is much cheaper than durian in Japan!! Of
course-lah, Japan is not durian producer!!! Comparing Malaysian durian with
Thailand durian make more sense!!For Indonesia we might say is cheaper there at RM2.07/liter but compare that
to their level of income!Now, let us compare the price with OIL PRODUCING countries:
UAE – RM1.19/litre
Eygpt – RM1.03/litre
Bahrain – RM0.87/litre
Qatar – RM0.68/litre
Kuwait – RM0.67/litre
Saudi Arabia – RM0.38/litre
Iran – RM0.35/litre
Nigeria – RM0.32/litre
Turkmenistan – RM0.25/litre
Venezuela – RM0.16/litre
MALAYSIA – RM2.70/litreRM 2.70!!! Individual perspective:
As of last month a Toyota Vios would ’cause a damage’ of about RM 89,000.
In the international market, a Toyota Vios is about USD 19,000
USD 19,000 =3D RM 62,700 (using the indicative rates of USD 1 =3D RM 3.30)
That makes Malaysian Vios owners pay an extra RM 26,300.This RM 26,300 should be cost of operations, profit and tax because the
transportation costs have been factored in to the USD 19,000.RM 26,300/ RM625 petrol rebate per year translates to a Vios being used for
42.08 years.I do understand that the RM 625 is a rebate given by the government, but it
also means that one has to use the Vios for 42.08 years just to make back
the amount paid in taxes for the usage of a foreign car. Would anyone use
any kind of car for that long.Now with these numbers in front of us, does the subsidy sound like a subsidy
or does it sound like a penalty. This just seems to be a heavy increment in
our daily cost of living as we are not only charged with high car taxes but
also with a drastic increase in fuel price.With all the numbers listed out, I urge all Malaysians to join me in
analyzing the situation further.Car taxation is government profit, fuel sales is Petronas’ (GLC) profit
which also translates into government profit. The government may ridicule us
Malaysians by saying look at the world market and fuel price world wide.
Please, we are Malaysians, we fought of the British, had a international
port in the early centuries (Malacca), home to a racially mixed nation and
WE ARE NOT STUPID!!!We know the international rates are above the USD 130/barrel. We understand
the fact that the fuel prices are increasing worldwide and we also know that
major scientist are still contradicting on why this phenomenon is happening.
Some blame Bush and his plunders around the world and some blame climate
change and there are others which say petroleum ‘wells’ are getting scarce.Again we go back to numbers to be more straight fwd
1 barrel =3D 159 liters x RM2..70/liter =3D RM 429 or USD 134
On 1 hand, we are paying the full cost of 1 barrel of crude oil with RM2.70
per liter but on the other hand the crude oil only produces 46% of fuel.Msia sells crude oil per barrel at USD130 buys back Fuel per barrel at
USD134. And not forgetting, every barrel of fuel is produced with 2 barrels
of crude oil.1 barrel crude oil =3D produce 46% fuel (or half of crude oil), therefore
2 barrel crude oil =3D approximately 1 barrel fuel
In other words, each time we sell 2 barrels of crude oil, equivalently we
will buy back 1 barrel of fuel.Financially,
Malaysia sell 2 barrel crude oil @ USD 130/barrel =3D USD 260 =3D RM 858
then, Malaysia will buy back fuel @ USD 134/barrel =3D RM 442/barrel
Thus, Malaysia earn net extra USD 126 =3D RM 416 for each 2 barrel of crude
sold/exported vs imported 1 barrel of fuel !!!
(USD 260-134 =3D USD 126 =3D RM416)So where this extra USD 126/barrel income is channeled to by Malaysian
Govt!!!Another analysis:
1 barrel crude oil =3D 159 liters.
46-47% of a barrel of crude oil =3D fuel that we use in our vehicles.
46% of 159 =3D 73.14 liters.
@ RM 2..70/liter x 73.14 liter =3D RM197.48 of fuel per barrel of crude oil.
This is only 46% of the barrel, mind you. Using RM 3.30 =3D USD 1, we get that
a barrel of crude oil produces USD 59.84 worth of petrol fuel (46% of
1barrel).
USD 59.84 of USD 130/barrel turns out to be 46% of a barrel as well..Another 54% =3D bitumen, kerosene, and natural gases and so many more.
And this makes a balance of USD 70.16 that has not been accounted for.So this is where I got curious. Where is the subsidy if we are paying 46% of
the price of a barrel of crude oil when the production of petrol/barrel of
crude oil is still only 46%!In actual fact, we still pay for this as they are charged in the forms of
fuel surcharge by airlines and road taxes for the building of road (because
they use the tar/bitumen) and many more excuse charging us but let us just
leave all that out of our calculations.As far as I know, only the politicians who live in Putrajaya and come for
their Parliament meetings in Kuala Lumpur (approximately 60+ km) are the
ones to gain as they claim their fuel and toll charges from the money of the
RAKYAT’s TAX.It is so disappointing to see this happen time and time again to the
Malaysian public, where they are deceived by the propaganda held by the
politicians and the controls they have over the press.Which stupid idiot economist equates rebates for rich or poor with the cc of
the vehicles! An average office clerk may own a second hand 1300cc proton
Iswara costing $7,000 (rebate =3D $625) while the Datuk’s children can own a
fleet of 10 new cars of BMW, Audi and Volvo all less than 2000cc costing $2
millions and get a total rebate of $625 x 10 =3D $6,250! Wow what kind of
economists we are keeping in Malaysia…wonder which phD certificate that
they bought from…Misleading concept of Subsidy:
The word ’subsidy’ has been brandished by the BN government as if it has so
generously helped the rakyat and in doing so incurred losses. This simple
example will help to explain the fallacy:Example:
Ahmad is a fisherman. He sells a fish to you at $10 which is below the
market value of $15. Let’s assume that he caught the fish from the abundance
of the sea at little or no cost. Ahmad claims that since the market value of
the fish is $15 and he sold you the fish for $10, he had subsidised you $5
and therefore made a loss of $5.Question : Did Ahmad actually make a profit of $10 or loss of $5 which he
claimed is the subsidy!Answer:
Ahmad makes a profit of $10 which is the difference of the selling price
($10) minus the cost price ($0 since the fish was caught from the abundance
of the sea). There is no subsidy as claimed by Ahmad.The BN government claims that it is a subsidy because the oil is kept and
treated as somebody else’s property (you know who).. By right, the oil
belongs to all citizens of the country and the government is a trustee for
the citizens. So as in the above simple example, the BN government cannot
claim that it has subsidised the citizen!____________________________________________________________And here is my two cents ( Wah! I feel like my opinion is small and cheap) worth of thoughts:-Good points but then there are other variable factors too… I do not claim to be an expert and knowledgeable in this field but I can see that the government is making mistake after mistake.
Hitting at the government is not the issue, retaliating against the government is also not a solution. The question is what can be done? How much power do we have as the people? We blatantly put people that are corrupt and we know in the back of our minds that no one politician is truly pure. Yet we put idiots like Gwo Burn Loh in Parliament. A political pawn with hardly any stands other than cursing at the BN government: ”Bloody this, Bloody that.” It seems that when we critique the government of their wrong we are not giving a better solution.
Honestly I do not know what the solution is, but if someone has a better one than this, I would like to hear it. I am tired of the government too, and yet I know that God has put the government in its place, nothing is beyond His divine plan. So I will respect them still no matter what, but I will keep looking for a solution and will live life to my means. Sometimes we try to live a lifestyle that is way beyond our means; we satisfy our wants not our needs. If we do that, we may recover, from whatever is thrown at us.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that we should be passive, but wise, meek and gentle. I may not always be like that but I am trying.
I get what he is saying and I agree. But there has got to be a way, a better way for all of this








