Some more light on this mysterious subsidy thing:
Most of the country’s oil fields contain low-sulfur, high quality “sweet” crude. Malaysia exports the majority of its oil to Japan, Thailand, Singapore and South Korea.
At least RM500/mth to use the second Penang bridge
Now that oil prices have gone up by 41 per cent and diesel by even more, our planners should scrap the proposed second cross-channel road link for Penang.
If the RM4.8 billion second Penang bridge (all 24km of it, 17km over water) sounded like a bad idea before the oil price hike, today it sounds like a terrible idea in the light of higher fuel prices.
Let’s try this out for size to see how much it will cost the average commuter every month to use the bridge.
Time to bring back the trams
Before the general election, they told us that we would become a net importer of oil by 2011.
Now, with the sharp oil price increase, they tell us we can remain a net exporter of oil until 2014-2015. You see, domestic demand will slow down. Some of us might turn to bicycles – and even live to tell the tale, given the notorious absence of bicycle lanes on our roads.
Excerpt from Reuters:
“It will be postponed if the demand does not grow at the rate that it should grow,” (Petronas) Chief Executive Mohd Hassan Merican was quoted as saying by state news agency Bernama.
He added: “If the rate is reduced from six percent (demand growth annually) to four percent, it will be extended by three to four years to 2014 or 2015.”
Subsidy? What subsidy? Aiyah, I don’t understand-lah…
For the last few days, I have been trying to figure out what exactly this oil “subsidy” is that the government is talking about, which it cannot tahan any longer and so it has to collect more money from the people.
What exactly is this “subsidy”? Everyone is talking about it without really knowing what this subsidy is all about.
Who is paying this “subsidy” to whom? I mean, actual cash payment. Is Petronas actually paying cash to anyone for this “subsidy”? Is the government paying cash to Petronas?
It’s a jungle out there! Oil price hike madness…
I was stuck in a massive jam after I went to pick up a friend from the Penang airport. No matter how hard I tried to avoid the petrol stations, it seemed like the whole of Penang was out on the streets looking for oil, before the price hike at midnight.
While listening to the radio, I heard one caller phoning in to the deejay and saying something to the effect of, “Here I am stuck in a jam on the way to a petrol station to fill up. I wish I could stay at home like my friend Mr Abdullah and shake legs cos he doesn’t need to go out and fill up.” It took me a couple of moments to realise that he was speaking about the PM! Even the deejay responded, “I would rather be like your friend Mr Abdullah”!
This, then, is the shape of things to come. A 40 per cent hike in petrol prices plus a 20 per cent rise in electricity tariffs. Welcome to the free market and the “brave new Malaysia”.
What are they doing on the Penang Bridge centre-span?
High above the Penang Bridge
For the longest time now, there has been major ongoing work on the three-lane centre-span of the Penang Bridge. The work seems never-ending. Many motorists are puzzled about the long-term closure of the far left lanes on the centre span.
Petronas’ RM600 billion profit: Where has it all gone?
So the figure has been revealed. Petronas’ group profit before taxes, royalties, dividends and export duties amounted to RM570 billion for the period from its establishment in 1974 to 31 March 2007.
If you include the figure for the period until 31 March 2008, then you are probably looking at a figure closer to RM700 billion, with the higher oil prices.
Let’s see the breakdown of that RM570 billion:
Second Penang bridge cost soars to RM4.8 billion
Traffic jam on the Second Penang Bridge in 2020? Toll $$$ for UEM
In July 2007, the estimated cost of the second Penang bridge was RM2.7 billion.
Urban planning gone crazy
This is an example of urban planning without a thought to pedestrians. It is a world in which cars reign supreme and pedestrians are just above cockroaches in the “food chain”. It is a world in which pedestrians – what more people with disabilities – seem to be completely forgotten.
RSS feed addresses
As you can see, I have been tinkering around with this site. Thanks to N4M for his suggestion to make the URLs search-engine friendly. I have done that, and now you can use any one of the following URLs for the feed:
https:/feed/rss/
https:/feed/
http://feeds.feedburner.com/Anilnettocom