“This one, you can listen within 50km of JB yah”

Mr Brown smartly saw the reason behind the short-lived ban on foreign-registered vehicles pumping petrol within 50 km of the border.

Six Word Memoirs

So I saw this book in MPH while in Johor Bahru City Square (I must be the only person during the Great Singapore Sale that goes to Malaysia for shopping): Not Quite What I was Planning: Six Word Memoirs from Writers Famous and Obscure. Some choice memoirs:

“Middle of seven made me me” – Susan Sinnot
“Followed yellow brick road. Disappointment ensued.” – Kelsey Ochs.
“Happiest when ignoring huge financial debt.” – Ayanna Byran
“The shit invariably hits the fan.” -Ashleea Nielsen
“Cursed with cancer. Blessed with friends.” – Hannah Davies, a 9-year old.
“Blade cuts. Blood runs. Scars remain.” – Heather Hudgins.

Update: Or a video might do the trick:

Six-Word Memoir book preview from SMITHmag on Vimeo.

Escapism

My unusually heighten sense of homesickness was (albeit, temporarily) relieved with a short trip north of the border. One of the few redeeming features of Singapore is Johor Bahru, which makes escaping Singapore easy (and, at S$2.40+RM2.50, pretty cheap).

Will be going to KL on Thursday night.

“It’s a self-preservation thing, you see”

Home sick, like never before actually. I have no idea why (okay, a strong idea why, but not going to write it out in public.

Been a pretty bad past few weeks. Wage dispute, cheated by bus touts, shit like that.

Will be going back to KL on Thursday. Followers (hints: Gideon) welcomed.

(Top quote from Love Actually)
Update: Of course, it could have helped if I weren’t stiff bored this weekend, without the pleasures of the Internet at home or satellite/cable TV. Thanks ah, my Singaporean *cough* friends.

The many ways of whining

On Facebook, “If venezuela can keep their petrol price at US$0.05/lit why cann’t we????”

Funny, Venezuela, which is increasingly approximating a failed economy, has an inflation rate of 12.9% last year. More than tripple ours.

Hmm, maybe banking sounds good

So I heard what a friend makes as an intern in a bank. It’s shocking. It’s half of what I get a year in a month. Which makes me wonder… Interns are supposed to be paid nothing or the very least, next to nothing. I can imagine the thought process, “Hmm, we should pay them next to nothing… If I’m an impoverish, lower-class Singaporean, how much would I earn? I think S$4,500 sounds about right. Hope they don’t find us too stingy”.

Anger

I’m just angry at my situation in life, angry at some of the people behind that, and most of all, angry at myself because I allowed these things to happen. I need to escape.

Gah!

Thank God he isn’t Prime Minister

Anwar Ibrahim defended fuel subsidies on the count that Malaysia is a net exporter for the stuff. For another, what, 2 years? It isn’t as if Malaysia’s coffers is awashed with cash: we have been in a fiscal deficit for many years now. And revenue from oil shouldn’t be spent on subsidies: it is wasteful, not targeted and inefficient. Handing out checks (a bit like what the current administration seems to be doing) is a lot more efficient.

Of course the current government could do a lot to lower the burden. Cancel huge projects of questionable value (why Penang Monorail, for example, when refurbishing the island’s tram lines are far much cheaper) – and channel that money into tax cuts. Malaysians would have a far easier time behind the checkout counter with no or little import duties than they would with extensive fuel subsidies, for one.

Would you like some cheese with that whine?

Less than 24 hours, the Facebook group “1 Million Malaysian who are sick of the RM2.70/liter Petrol Price” had some 1,767 members. “But Malaysia is the net oil producer !!!!” Yes, lets waste it on destructive subsidies. “The country’s GDP should go up when the global oil prices go up.” And, so?

The main reason why the subsidies was slashed (note, petrol is still subsidized, something poorer Thailand just north of the border does not do) is because of its fiscal burden. So, oh my God, the government didn’t give new subsidies to offset completely the petrol hike. Just pause for a moment:

Yes, Malaysia is a net-exporter. Malaysia also have been facing severe budget deficits and mounting public debts. Its a bit daft to spend all the savings incurred by raising petrol and diesel prices 78 sen and RM1 respectively into fresh subsidies and tax cuts.

I drive, and privately mourn the loss of cheap petrol. But I’m not a self-absorb twit considering only my wallet. Yes, removal of subsidies is painful. It always is. It should have been eliminated in the early 90s when global petroleum prices were very low and the Malaysian economy was booming. Guess who was finance minister then? Anwar Ibrahim, apparently the next prime minister, who still toes the populist, pro-subsidies line.

Best/worst decision by Pak Lah

The Malaysian prime minister took the economically-sound but politically-painful (if not suicidal) route by raising fuel prices some 40%. His popularity has already been in the dumps, what after March’s elections, and this wouldn’t help (Anwar Ibrahim’s threats of unseating him by Malaysia Day, 16 September, notwithstanding).

But one painful hit is better than a gradual removal of subsidies, especially with opportunistic cowards preferring to do the populist rather than the right thing. If the idea is to help the poor, subsidizing petrol for the various BMWs and Mercedes that cruise Sri Hartamas does squat. Targeted subsidies (though I’m not sure this is the most effective way, being done annually using road tax) does a lot better on this regard.

Out of curiousity though, news of the hike and the resumption of market prices came some a week after the knee-jerk, horridly stupid ban on foreign cars filling up near border regions. A sign, clear as any, that the Cabinet didn’t think this out that particularly well – the redundancy of the earlier policy is astounding (it would be funny though if the ban is still enforced in northern Malaya – seeing that petrol is now cheaper in Thailand). But out of the shroud of random, poorly-thought off policies, it is refreshing one of it actually makes sense.