7/16/2008

Step aside SIA, DBS, Temasek!

You are all small boys in the big league. You have tried so hard, think so hard, employed the best money can buy from the world. You have the best super talents to do the sums. How much are you making together? $5b, $10b? Petronas made $24.4b just simply pumping oil from the ground. No need to work so hard, think so much, hair all turning white, and taking great risks. And they are raising petrol pump prices by 41%! They cannot afford to subsidise their people because everyone is not subsidising. Err, not exactly. Everyone is the non oil producing countries or net oil importers. For the oil producers, some are selling oil to their people for less than US 30c per gallon. No wonder the Malaysians are protesting. What a lucky country! Only unfortunate thing is that the leaders are not thinking. People cut subsidies they also must cut subsidies.

3 comments:

Mockingbird said...

It's ironic that the malaysian gahmen would rather pay billions of ringgit for fuel subsidies which is a recurring item year after year than pay for a new high-speed north south railway track to be built. The construction costs are one-off. The benefits are enormous. Yet they are still not building it. Of coz, now subsidy has been reduced.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

market subsidy. and they can afford it as they pump the oil from the ground. brunei, the emirates and i think venezuela and several other oil producing countries are selling oil very cheaply to their people to bring down the cost of living and cost of doing business.

the high speed rail has to be a commercial proposition as the cost is high.

Mockingbird said...

in actual fact, the malaysian gahmen had been spending more from its budget on fuel subsidies, than what it would cost them to build a high-speed railway.