March Madness

March election is over. Alhamdulillah! Dust has not settled yet but it seems nothing bad is going to happen. Malaysians, irrespective of race and religion, know what is best for our country.

During the campaign (as can be found in Youtube) many people were talking about a lot of stuff and making promises that I found a bit difficult to swallow. I am shocked to know that not many people out there were willing to correct some of the statements made particularly on the issue of fuel price increase in Malaysia. Are we all deaf, dumb and blind??

According to our ex-Finance Minister from 1991 - 1998, the fuel price in Malaysia was Rm 1.10 per liter and PETRONAS' profit was between Rm 25 - 30 billion because he 'made' sure that it never exceeded those amount. What he failed to mention was the price of crude oil was USD 20 - 25 per barrel!

Now the fuel price in Malaysia is Rm 1.92 and the price of crude oil is hovering above USD 100 per barrel. Okay, I am not a qualified economist but when crude price goes up, so should our fuel pricing. So if the people are asking for transparency, then I suggest the government should show the actual amount of subsidies to sustain the fuel price at RM 1.92 per liter and link it to the loss of possible development from those subsidies. For 2007 alone, the Malaysian government is spending RM 40 billion on fuel subsidies!!

People should know that PETRONAS' profit no longer depends on domestic production as it has been going international since late 90s in pursuit of excellence. The more profit PETRONAS makes (higher ranking in Fortune 500) the better of its chances to enter another international market. Therefore, the higher the profit that PETRONAS makes, the higher the tax that PETRONAS pays to the government of Malaysia so that means more money for the development of our country. The rakyat needs to understand that the success of PETRONAS is of utmost importance to them and asking PETRONAS to subsidise fuel will only benefit a fraction of the rakyat especially the rich. Artificially low fuel price only encourages waste, misallocated capital and other complications.

How should we resolve this? We need intelligent people who can be trusted to manage the wealth of the country for the benefit of the rakyat. There is hope as the level of education in Malaysia has increased because the government invested in setting up many local universities and also sending many students overseas. Therefore, I can only hope and wish that this will translate into having many, if not all, highly educated persons in the government and also in the opposition. The only thing we need to ensure is that our future political leaders have integrity, honesty and accountability, which cannot be taught in school and universities, are of same importance of having good academic qualifications. Therefore, it is our duty to instill these values in our younger brothers and sisters and of course, our children.

There is less than 12 years remaining before we should reach the target of being a developed nation and eliminate poverty in our country. My question is whether we will have enough highly responsible and qualified people running the country to help us reach the target.