The price of oil and its true value...

http://www.bloomberg.com/energy/

http://www.oil-price.net/

http://www.wtrg.com/prices.htm

If you do think out of the box... and look at the bigger picture... or read the papers recently... please be aware that crude oil prices are going at USD96 per barrel... and rising. Suddenly the feared USD100 per barrel doesn't seem far fetched. What has this got to do with us? What is the impact for us Malaysians?

Everything you own or work for is related to oil and the energy industry. Food, transport, homes, clothes, utilities, electricity, economies, computers, manufacturing, plastics... EVERYTHING is related to oil. If the price of oil continues to increase, for sure every other man made material price also increases. That seriously includes our daily cost of living. Malaysians are so worried about the price of flour and roti canai but that is only a small factor. The bigger worry is our goverment spending more money subsidising petrol prices and cutting back on more important expenses. Budgets and projects for local councils, police, hospitals, roads, cleanliness, education, universities, environment etc etc will be seriously damaged
If the government decides to cut petrol subsidies, then the normal man on the street will feel a deep hole in their pockets... and thats not good politically or socially. Election is around the corner and politicians cannot afford to make people more upset than they already are. Without subsidies, quite a number of industries and sections of our economy will fail. This in return will result in job losses and severe unemployment in Malaysia. Without subsidies, the normal citizens will not be able to spend money on books, knowledge building or even tourism. It will stress our daily routine and cause damage to national psyche.

Its not easy to run any government and we cannot afford to make mistakes. The Malaysian government must start to think wisely and long term now. We have to make smart and decisive decisions now. The Malaysian government needs to wake up and see the bigger picture. We need an efficient and lean machinery to run this country. That means spending prudently and wisely on things that matter most. We need to award projects to companies and people who can deliver the best. We need to employ the best minds to run agencies and departments. The government cannot afford anymore wastage or embarking on grand projects. Malaysia Mungkin Boleh!!