A well written article by Mr Patrick Teoh.
Advice, advice everywhere
It always happens. Haven't you noticed? Whenever there is a price increase. Of anything. Commodities. Fuel. School fees. Whatever. That is soon followed by a barrage of advice. Mostly from our politicians and most times echoed by our mainstream media boys who do sometimes get independantly creative too.
So, the price of petrol has gone up by more than 40%. Electricity tariffs are also up. And of course the price of EVERYTHING will be up soon enough. And so the advice brigade go to work.
Change your lifestyle is an ever-popular piece. We've been told to change our lifestyle so often by our government that to change some more would probably mean that we actually go live in trees and eat roots and grasses.
Here's a new one. At least I don't remember having heard it before...
"[People] need to be thrifty in their life. If they have some spare land near their house, they can start planting vegetables. For those staying in high-rise like apartments, they can use the pots or the hydroponics method". This great piece of advice was mouthed off by Mohd. Yusuf Abdul Rahman, the communications director of FOMCA.
Spare land near their houses to plant vegetables???!!! High-rise apartment dwellers to plant using hydrpponics method???!!! Where's this guy been the past 24 years? So in addition to having to work 8-10 hours a day and fight traffic commuting while burning fuel you can't afford you're expected to come home, change into your sarong and go be a farmer???!!! Anyway, any law-abiding Malaysian will tell you that soon's your vegetable patch is ready for harvest DBKL will pay you a visit, confiscate your vegetables for unlicensed farming and issue you a summons to appear in court!
And today's STAR carried a whole list of what you should do to save fuel while using your car. One of the "tips" given was that we should drive with our windows closed as open windows create wind drag which would require more burning of fuel to propel the vehicle. Well, thank you all over the place, Mr. Wong Chun Wai and your creative writers. Drive with closed windows? Wouldn't that mean that we would have to turn on air-conditioning and wouldn't that translate into using more fuel? Or are you suggesting that Malaysians drive with car windows closed and no air-conditioning? You can't be serious! Really? You try it first la.
A question that I would like to ask anyone of you out there who know is this. Didn't the government say earlier that the fuel subsidy issue was going to solved in a way that would tax the rich and help the poor? So what happened ah? I thought the bigger the car you drive the more you pay. So now the price of petrol is RM2.70 for everyone. So I am a poor working slob driving a Kancil and barely making ends meet and I pay the same price as the baarger who is chauffeured around in a 3,500cc petrol guzzling monster who vacations in the Bahamas twice a year? So okay, he doesn't get the RM625 annual rebate. Big fucking deal! That's RM1.71 a day. That won't buy me a kopi-O once the full impact of the price increases kicks in. So what happened there? Aiyah! Too complicated la to have 2 systems la. So everybody kena la. Of course some kena worse than others la. But don't demonstrate, okay? Thank you ah.
A commentor on the other post here said......start doing something about the whole situation instead of whining like babies! What good does it bring lahhh.... We all angry, mogok dont come to work, strike, then what? Got difference ar? The first thing to change is not govt but our attitudes.
Well, thank you for that piece of advice!!! You obviously are missing the point. Sure we should start doing something about it. What? Live with it? Say, okay what to do la? Thank you very much.
It is this type of attitude that needs changing.Am I angry because price of fuel has increased? Am I angry that the government no longer subsidises fuel prices? No. I am angry because of how I as a Malaysian citizen has been treated in the whole scheme of this price increase thing. Instead of giving me ample warning and advising me on proper steps and precautions to take and giving me a target date to prepare for the impending crunch they say..SURPRISE! CAUGHT YA THERE! HAHAHAHAHA...
And I am supposed to find that amusing? And what's with the fucking advice?
NIAMAH!!! NIAMAH!!! NIAMAH!!! NIAMAH!!!
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4 comments:
suz: we are if we believe everything they write. hahaha...
Ah, Mr Teoh - there's nothing like some straight-talking from him to set muddle-headed ideas right =)
There's only two way, it's either we think of way to save and live frugally or find a way to make more income.
michellesy: i've always respected that guy...he's a classic.
simon: but we must never be the only who compromise. the gomen has their duties to carry out. and their primary duty is to manage this nation the way we want them to manage it. yeah, i wont and cant deny that the fuel subsidy must be reduced or abolished altogether...but, where have the money from petronas gone to? and since now the gomen is going to save like rm50-60billion per year, how are they gonna spend it? citizens are always kept in the dark, and the ones brave enough to question it are crucified.
its only right if the gomen spared some thoughts on how to help the citizen ease the burden of not having 'cheap' fuel. they are saying they intend to revamp and improve the whole public transport system...right, but havent they been saying the same thing for the past 10 years?...they say they want to reduce bureaucracy and corruption....wasnt this mahathir's tagline when he took over the helm some 27years ago?
the thing is, i have lost faith in the gomen. i have no faith at all that this umno-led BN is going to improve. they will just find another carpet to sweep their shits under. since i know that another 4,8,12 years of BN rule will erode the country further.....why dont i just give PR a chance, a single chance to prove what they can do for us?.....
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