It showers like hell last evening with thunder and lightning and with that came a cool morning. I sat at the patio enjoying the cool weather as I write this. Like the weather the political situation in the country has not really settled down as yet.
On the political front the BN whose party rule the country from day one of independence in 1957 saw one of its worst result but as yet to come to term with the people's verdict and faced the political reality of the day. In that election the BN lost the two third majority it enjoyed in previous Parliament and five rich states went to the opposition Pakatan and if you count the Wilayah Pesekutuan [WP] [Federal Territory] of KL which saw all but one seat was won by the Pakatan, the new collation of KeAdilan, PAS and DAP. From my reading of the situation the component parties in the BN is still in the old mindset where the leadership is passed down from one person to another from top to bottom instead in a truly democratic system where the ordinary members have the right to elect the leader they want to lead them. These mindset must change if they want to regain the lost ground come the next election or a by election when it become necessary.
Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has decided not to seek re election so by March next year he would no longer be the PM of Malaysia, since by tradition whoever lead UMNO became the PM. That whoever has yet to be known but like anything in politic five months is a long time indeed and anything could happen, so we may never know as yet who the next PM would be. The reason been that AI whose collation won big but not big enough to take over the government says that there might be a cross over and that he would take over the government and if that comes true then the leader of his collation would surely be the next PM. Since politic is the art of the possible any thing could happen. So folks let wait and see.
On the economic front the government has reduce the price of Petroleum and Diesel. They have been doing it on a bit by bit way after raising the price some five months ago. Because of that raise all goods and services has increased drastically and not down with the price going down. I do not believe the price of good that has gone up would come down. Folks normally price that has gone up would not go down, that is the reality of the situation. In the first instance they should not have raised the price of the fuel but should wait for a while and then made a smart decision. Now even with the lower price of fuel the price of goods and services would I believe not go down. That is why the government in the first instance should study the situation taking into consideration that the country also has Petroleum and Gas and is making good money on the export of it. Now it looks like even with the price of fuel down like before it was raised, the price of goods and services would not go down.
Just look at the price of high quality rice the one that is not under the price control system, it has risen hundred percent. Before leaving the US last May I bought a bag of ten kilo rice of branded quality for RM29.00. Coming back to Malaysia in late July I went to look for the same kind of rice and I was shock to see that the same brand of rice has been prices at RM58.00. And it has remained so until now. As I am used to enjoying this quality/brand of rice I had to buy it at whatever price. Not only that, other goods and services had risen to a level making the Ringgit so weak. So as you can see it is because of the raise in Petroleum and Diesel that made the price of other goods and services went up.
So only a smart decision by the authority would save the people a few Sen or Ringgit. I hope that the authority in the future be very careful when raising the price of fuels because it affects the transport sector and since every goods and services must be transported, the cost of goods and services would naturally rise. Had the authority made smart decision we would not be facing this dilemma now. Remember it is the economy that normally influences the political decision of the rakyaat during an election.
Anyway do have a nice day.
On the political front the BN whose party rule the country from day one of independence in 1957 saw one of its worst result but as yet to come to term with the people's verdict and faced the political reality of the day. In that election the BN lost the two third majority it enjoyed in previous Parliament and five rich states went to the opposition Pakatan and if you count the Wilayah Pesekutuan [WP] [Federal Territory] of KL which saw all but one seat was won by the Pakatan, the new collation of KeAdilan, PAS and DAP. From my reading of the situation the component parties in the BN is still in the old mindset where the leadership is passed down from one person to another from top to bottom instead in a truly democratic system where the ordinary members have the right to elect the leader they want to lead them. These mindset must change if they want to regain the lost ground come the next election or a by election when it become necessary.
Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has decided not to seek re election so by March next year he would no longer be the PM of Malaysia, since by tradition whoever lead UMNO became the PM. That whoever has yet to be known but like anything in politic five months is a long time indeed and anything could happen, so we may never know as yet who the next PM would be. The reason been that AI whose collation won big but not big enough to take over the government says that there might be a cross over and that he would take over the government and if that comes true then the leader of his collation would surely be the next PM. Since politic is the art of the possible any thing could happen. So folks let wait and see.
On the economic front the government has reduce the price of Petroleum and Diesel. They have been doing it on a bit by bit way after raising the price some five months ago. Because of that raise all goods and services has increased drastically and not down with the price going down. I do not believe the price of good that has gone up would come down. Folks normally price that has gone up would not go down, that is the reality of the situation. In the first instance they should not have raised the price of the fuel but should wait for a while and then made a smart decision. Now even with the lower price of fuel the price of goods and services would I believe not go down. That is why the government in the first instance should study the situation taking into consideration that the country also has Petroleum and Gas and is making good money on the export of it. Now it looks like even with the price of fuel down like before it was raised, the price of goods and services would not go down.
Just look at the price of high quality rice the one that is not under the price control system, it has risen hundred percent. Before leaving the US last May I bought a bag of ten kilo rice of branded quality for RM29.00. Coming back to Malaysia in late July I went to look for the same kind of rice and I was shock to see that the same brand of rice has been prices at RM58.00. And it has remained so until now. As I am used to enjoying this quality/brand of rice I had to buy it at whatever price. Not only that, other goods and services had risen to a level making the Ringgit so weak. So as you can see it is because of the raise in Petroleum and Diesel that made the price of other goods and services went up.
So only a smart decision by the authority would save the people a few Sen or Ringgit. I hope that the authority in the future be very careful when raising the price of fuels because it affects the transport sector and since every goods and services must be transported, the cost of goods and services would naturally rise. Had the authority made smart decision we would not be facing this dilemma now. Remember it is the economy that normally influences the political decision of the rakyaat during an election.
Anyway do have a nice day.
4 comments:
Hi Pak Idrus,
Could it be that civilization has reached one of those crucial points in its evolution that a worldwide change in mindset seems so critical these days? Just look at the situation over on this side of the Pacific. And what one reads about Europe in the media, the same sort of feeling seems to exist there.
By the way, if it's any sort of comfort, your complaints about prices that go up but never come down no matter what the price of a barrel of oil exist here too.
Getting hard to have a nice day, if one does any thinking :)
louis, thanks for the visit and sharing your thoughts on this subject.
Well, it look like what start in the US has became contagious and spread like wild fire to the other part of the world. That is the unfortunate thing about globalization. Like you said it could be part of our species evolution. Hope that we would be wiser after this.
As for the rise of price I do not believe price of goods especially would fall when the price of fuel goes down. Nothing much we could do about it.
Anyway do enjoy the day.
salam pak idrus ...
well ..domestic political situations plus the oil price ..2 of the most popular mamak stall discussion at th moment ...
I still believe smart/creative budgeting and montly saving culture (which a lot of us do find it extremely difficult)could be the answer to face the current economic situation ...
rizal
jalan rebung, Rizal thanks for the visit and sharing your thoughts on this subject. Yes everyone talks about this during TT.
As for the the economic of living, been prudent is the best thing to do although it is easy said then done.
Have a nice day.
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