Pump prices go up 25 sen from midnight

After unprecedented fall in pump prices over the past few months, petrol stations will see an increase of 25 sen for RON 95, RON 97 and diesel from midnight.

Beginning March 1, both RON 95 and diesel will retail at RM1.95 per litre, up from RM1.70, while RON 97 will be RM2.25, up from RM2 per litre.

Last month, RON 95 fell to its lowest level since it was introduced in 2009, spurred by a sudden plunge in global oil prices, which has since recovered slightly.

The price of fuel has been on a managed float system since December last year after the government abolished the subsidy system.

At that time, RON95, RON97 and diesel retailed at RM2.26, RM2.46 and RM2.23 respectively.

On Jan 1, however, RON95, RON97 and diesel retailed at RM1.91, RM2.11 and RM1.93 respectively, and last month pump prices went down even further.

Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Hasan Malek said in a statement this evening that the price was determined based on the average cost price of the product during February 2015 and currency exchange rates.

"The government will monitor the development of the market price of the products' costs and currency exchange rates every time to set the retail price of petrol and diesel for the following months," he said, according to Bernama.

The minister reminded all oil companies and petrol station operators to comply with the new pricing.

"Stern action will be taken against those who violate the rules relating to the new prices set by the government," he added.

PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli however warned the price tonight would be higher, and said it is being worsened by the falling ringgit that he attributed to the poor financial management of Prime Minister and Finance Minister Najib Razak.

 

Price Of RON97 Reduced By 20 Sen A Litre

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 (Bernama) -- The retail price of RON97 petrol will be reduced by 20 sen a litre, from RM2.75/litre to RM2.55/litre throughout the country effective midnight tonight.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan confirmed the matter on his Twitter account Tuesday.

A copy of the letter to the effect sent by the Finance Ministry to Petronas Dagangan Berhad was uploaded with his Twitter posting.

The price of the fuel is determined by managed float, and depends on market forces.

Ratusan protes tuntut harga petrol diturunkan

Activists march to protest rising fuel prices

20 sen fuel hike - what it means to different people

 

To the rich, it means fuel in Malaysia is still cheaper than in other countries in the region. The increase means nothing to them. They can happily pay for it.

To the lower income group and the poor, it means a further tightening of the belt to make ends meet on devalued money as a ringgit will get less than before, but they don’t earn more ringgit to offset the decreased value of the ringgit.

To the business people it means an opportunity to increase profits as prices would be increased in round figures that are higher than the actual percentage increase in the costs of transportation and production of goods. They are not going to do charity and absorb the price increases though the government will be saying that there won’t be unfair price increases or that businesses would absorb some of the increases if not all. This is the tune consumers have heard over and over but which has never been true. 

To Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism Minister Hasan Malek the 20 sen increase is a commendable move and the people should congregate to congratulate the government as the increase is to ensure the nation's coffers are not depleted.

Dear minister, please tell us honestly how the coffers are not depleted when RM100 wall clocks are purchased for RM3,000 and RM3,000 laptops are purchased for over RM40,000 by “stupid” government servants as recorded in the Auditor-General’s reports?

Who is responsible for depleting government coffers through irresponsible handling and spending of public money?  It is a case of easy come (through taxes, etc) and easy go (all kinds of leakages which are left to go on and on).

Just make a cabinet decision and hey presto, money will flow in to fill the coffers. It’s as easy as that for the government, but not for those who have to sweat and toil, some at two jobs, to make ends meet.

So, to take the minister’s advice, we must go back to feudal times where leaders should not be questioned. But religions teach that people not only have a right to question decisions of the leaders but must do so if the decisions are seen to be unjust. So whom do we listen to, our prophets or our leaders?

The fuel price increase is very just and commendable in the eyes of the government and considered very fair by the rich, but to the lower income and poorer people in society, who form a majority of the population, it is unjust.

If a low income person needs to drive a small car 50km a day to and from work, it means about 70 sen more a day in Ron 95. That’s about RM20.00 a month. But it doesn’t stop there as fuel prices affect everything that needs to be transported from one place to another, and that includes daily necessities such as rice, sugar, fish, vegetables, etc. 

A lot of people are forced to own their own vehicles because of very poor public transport. This in turn is due to the policy of allowing certain parties to make money from the manufacture and sale of private vehicles. The private vehicle ownership policy is a big money churner for vested interests. So it must not be killed by having an efficient public transport system.

How will the lower income people be affected? If vegetables from Cameron Highlands cost 2 sen more per kg to transport, the end consumer will have to pay a rounded up figure of at least 5 sen, and more likely 10 to 20 sen, per kg. Add all other cost increases and a low-income person may have to fork out RM50 to RM80 per month. If he has school going children, he has to pay more for the school bus. Thus he could be hit to a tune of RM100 per month or more due to a 20 sen per litre increase in petrol and diesel price.

The fuel price increase therefore hits the lower income and poor people. They have to pay more for their daily needs. The rich do not suffer the same, or any consequences.

Our treasury should be in the black at all times as this is a country with plenty of natural resources. It is the mismanagement, corruption and leakages that are the cause of “depleted coffers”.

Would any minister (if he were a low-income individual) spend his hard earned money the way he spends or approves for spending public money as a minister?

Congestion At Petrol Stations, Motorists Flock To Fill Their Tanks Before Fuel Price Goes Up

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1 (Bernama) -- Long queues and congestion were the order of the day as motorists lined up at petrol stations throughout the Klang Valley to fill up their tanks following news that the price of RON95 petrol and diesel prices will go up by 20 sen effective midnight (Thursday).

A survey carried out by BERNAMA at Petronas, Shell, Petron, Caltex and BHP stations saw motorists queuing up at the pumps of petrol stations since 8.30pm Wednesday night when news broke out about the price hike.

Civil servant Hasbullah Ahmad, 25, said he quickly rushed to the petrol station after news of the price hike.

"I had to wait for about 20 minutes to fill up but I feel I was lucky because I went straight to the station after hearing about the price hike," he told BERNAMA.

The Domestic Trade, Consumer Affairs and Cooperatives Ministry, Wednesday announced that the subsidy for petrol RON95 and diesel would be reduced by 20 sen a litre starting 12.01am, (Oct 2).

Following the announcement, Petrol RON95 will be sold at RM2.30 a litre and diesel at RM2.20 a litre.

The unsubsidized market price for RON95 is RM2.58 per litre while the price of diesel is RM2.52 per litre.

Noraisha Abdul Razak, a lecturer at a private college said she was shocked by the price hike because there was no indication of such a price hike.

"I only realised about the hike when I saw motorists lining up at the petrol station," she said.

Amirul Haslam, 22, a technician expressed concern with the hike because it would see a chain reaction as prices of other essential goods would also increase, thus increase the peoples' cost of living.

"Normally when the price of fuel goes up, there will be an increase in other goods and this will certainly affect the lower income group," he said.

Kuih seller K. Selvi, 50, also echoed a similar, fearing the prices of everything else related to the increase of petrol and diesel, would go up.

"I hope the government will provide some form of incentive to cushion the price hike," she said.

A bank officer, David Lim, 30, hoped there would not be another price hike in the near future.

"We cannot avoid a price hike but the government can take the initiative to improve the economy to ensure subsidies are provided for the people," he said.

Fuel hike is justified

The increase is a proactive step for fiscal consolidation and economic survival.

GEORGE TOWN: A NGO has argued that the fuel price hike of RM 0.20 for RON95 petrol and diesel was to save the country’s economy.

Sensible and Ethical Malaysians United Team (Semut) president Huan Cheng Guan attributed the fuel price hike partly on the current Syrian conflict, stressing that global oil price can reach US$150 per barrel now.

He also pointed out that Malaysia was officially not an oil exporting country as 90% of its production was for domestic use.

He argued that the fuel price hike was the government’s proactive step for fiscal consolidation to increase market confidence, once fiscal deficit had been reduced.

“It’s not political issue but about Malaysia’s economic status and survival,” said Huan in a statement here today.

He claimed that the Putrajaya administration had to cut subsidies and increase fuel price to avoid the country from being punished by international rating agencies and foreign investors for failing to tackle structural problems, such as high rate of subsidies.

The federal government has allocated RM24.8 billion this year on fuel subsidies and the Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has announced that the country would save RM1.1 billion until end of the year with the recent hike

The government would save up to RM3.3 billion per annum while it still subsidises 63 sen per liter for RON95 petrol and 80 sen per liter for diesel.

The government’s target is to reduce Malaysian’s fiscal deficit to 3% by 2015.

Huan pointed out that the petrol subsidies were meant for the poor and low-income group, citing the government’s plan to increase its BR1M budget next year. This year’s budget was RM2.9 billion.

He said government had subsidised between RM25 billion and RM30 billion to allow Malaysians and foreigners to enjoy cheaper fuel, gas, and water.

But, he said such subsidies to lower prices of goods and services were also enjoyed by undeserving rich Malaysians and foreigners.

He also claimed that the main beneficiaries of subsidised diesel were owners of Vietnamese and Thai fishing vessels, and the Malaysian fishermen who sell their subsidised allocation to them.

He said the subsidy reduction was also to discourage smugglers from Thailand and Indonesia.

“Hence reducing subsidy is a vital move in the right direction to arrest the leakages from country’s income.

“If the government did not take this move, the other alternative would be to increase taxes,” said Huan.

Global fuel prices a factor

While people grumbled about the 20 sen fuel price hike, he said many have forgotten that the pump price has doubled in 15 years while world oil prices have gone up 10 times in the same period.

He noted that Petronas’ profits were also down and the national oil company had warned Putrajaya that it cannot continue subsidising gas for industrial use.

“The move for the reduction in subsidies shows Prime Minister Najib is a realist and ready to forego populist moves for the well-being of the nation,” said Huan.

He however, admitted the fuel increase had infuriated many citizens, especially those living in poverty and squeezed by ever growing cost of living.

But he urged the people to verify the facts and dispel myths spun by Pakatan Rakyat leaders and their cyber mongers whose sole purpose is to stir hatred against Barisan Nasional.

He said that among the myths prevalent among people were that the price increase was due to corruption and payback for voting BN to power; and price increase would cause inflation.

He further said that inflation rate was under control and there were fiscal and monetary policies in place to control inflation and its impact on the economy.

“It is all up to us to adopt the correct perspective of the situation with the right facts and not fall prey to senseless propaganda.

“As it stands, the Prime Minister and his team are on the right track,” said Huan.

Fuel Subsidy Cut On Track To Improve Fiscal Position, Says Nazir Razak

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 (Bernama) -- The government's move in reducing the RON95 petrol and diesel subsidy is on the right track in improving its fiscal position, said CIMB Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Datuk Seri Nazir Razak.

"I think it is right, we need to reduce subsidies and widen our tax base, but we must do it in a way that does not affect the general public.

"In the context of what is happening globally, this is something very important that we need to do," he told reporters at the Khazanah Nasional open house here Tuesday.

He said following the negative outlook on the country by Fitch Ratings recently, there was a very real outflow of money from the region, and to mitigate this pressure, it was imperative to take control of both government fiscal deficit and a potential trade deficit.

Nazir said when there is an outflow of money, investors would evaluate and compare different countries, and their decision would be based on the fundamentals of each country.

"This is why it is important for the government to send out the right messages in terms of the country's fundamentals," he said.

He said across the region, every country is having to take measures to protect itself in the face of this new pressure.

"There is a lot of cheap money out there, and investors are constantly looking for an opportunity, so it is okay to be a little bit aggressive," he said.

Asked on the impact of the subsidy reduction on the general public, Nazir said the government has stated that the subsidy withdrawal would be used for specific programmes to cushion the impact on the lower- to middle-income groups.

"We look forward to these measures that the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is going to announce in the tabling of the Budget 2014 on Oct 25," he added.

Meanwhile, the government's move to reduce fuel subsidies has received positive reviews from foreign investors as the ringgit hit a three-week high today.

The ringgit advanced 0.29 per cent to 3.2645 against the US dollar, after hitting 3.2590, its strongest since Aug 13.

-- BERNAMA