That was what Idris Jala, the man in charge of Pemandu, said on Subsidy Rationalisation Lab open day - the government risked going bankrupt because of the fuel subsidies.
But of course, Najib who himself had appointed Idris Jala, said Pemandu's figures were merely projections.
Every time there is a price hike, the government will repeat the same old story that our fuel price is the cheapest in the region.
Well, just read the letter below written by an ordinary man on the street:
WE have been told how our government will go broke if the fuel subsidy is not done away with. The question is, are we Malaysians ready for another fuel price hike? In 2008, our fuel price topped RM2.70 a litre and we decided to teach our government a “lesson”. And subsequently the price was brought down to RM1.80 a litre.
Datuk Seri Idris Jala, minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, had said that our country risks going bankrupt in 2019 because of the fuel subsidies.
The fact is we are not ready for another fuel hike. We can hardly afford our own cars. If the price of fuel is compared to Thailand, let’s compare the prices of cars also. A Honda City 1.5 (2010 model) costs RM51,200 in Thailand and about RM82,300 in Malaysia. We pay an extra 61%.
A Toyota Vios 1.5 (2010 model) costs about RM51,000 in Thailand and about RM71,000 in Malaysia. We pay an extra 39%.
If the government wishes to reduce the subsidy for fuel, it is appropriate that it restructures the tax for cars or brings down the prices of cars first.
Idris said Malaysia risks bankruptcy in about nine years. But are we aware that the number of bankruptcy cases is increasing every day? In Malaysia, the total number of bankruptcy cases has risen from 70,009 in 1999 to 106,000 in 2003 and today the figure stands at more than 160,000 cases.
This means an average of 25 bankruptcy cases are reported every day. Most of these cases involve credit card and car loan defaulters.
Despite our fuel prices being one of the cheapest in the region, there are Malaysians going bankrupt for not being able to pay for their cars. It will get worse if fuel prices go up. We will tend to use our credit cards to pay for fuel. And it will lead to overspending using our credit cards.
If the government has to reduce the subsidy for fuel, so be it. But it must find a way to reduce the taxes on cars and make them more affordable.
Datuk Seri Idris Jala, minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, had said that our country risks going bankrupt in 2019 because of the fuel subsidies.
The fact is we are not ready for another fuel hike. We can hardly afford our own cars. If the price of fuel is compared to Thailand, let’s compare the prices of cars also. A Honda City 1.5 (2010 model) costs RM51,200 in Thailand and about RM82,300 in Malaysia. We pay an extra 61%.
A Toyota Vios 1.5 (2010 model) costs about RM51,000 in Thailand and about RM71,000 in Malaysia. We pay an extra 39%.
If the government wishes to reduce the subsidy for fuel, it is appropriate that it restructures the tax for cars or brings down the prices of cars first.
Idris said Malaysia risks bankruptcy in about nine years. But are we aware that the number of bankruptcy cases is increasing every day? In Malaysia, the total number of bankruptcy cases has risen from 70,009 in 1999 to 106,000 in 2003 and today the figure stands at more than 160,000 cases.
This means an average of 25 bankruptcy cases are reported every day. Most of these cases involve credit card and car loan defaulters.
Despite our fuel prices being one of the cheapest in the region, there are Malaysians going bankrupt for not being able to pay for their cars. It will get worse if fuel prices go up. We will tend to use our credit cards to pay for fuel. And it will lead to overspending using our credit cards.
If the government has to reduce the subsidy for fuel, so be it. But it must find a way to reduce the taxes on cars and make them more affordable.
Abdul Halim Chew
Kajang
HIGH-INCOME ECONOMY GAUGE
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