Petrol and food price going down? Wait long long…
Today i calculated the petrol consumption of my car. I was stunned to see the figure 0.16 sen…… and started to wonder when did my car become so fuel inefficient. Then I realized one thing….i was using the new petrol pricing of RM 2.70 per litre. And to be honest, I’m fortunate enough that my car’s petrol consumption is very good.
Ever since the petrol price hike……things in Malaysia have gone sour. Inflation rate…..was estimated to be around 4-5% before the petrol price hike……but after the petrol price hike…..it’s now estimated to be 5-6% (minimum). Honestly speaking, I’m expecting more like 7-8%.
I wouldn’t go into the discussion on the demostrations n stuff. Those are sensitive issues after all.
What I feel is that, no matter how much we protest…..the petrol price will not go down. I’ve not heard of anything which will have its price/value goes down after the price increase…….other than, of course, our share market.
And even if the petrol price DOES go down…do you think the other stuff will go down as well? Stuff like food? Impossible. Don’t ever expect the hawker stalls to lower their price even if the petrol price goes down. They (those sellers) will always try to maximize their income. As far as I can remember, food price has never gone down before. The average price for a plate of fried rice has been going up for the past few years….not going down….not even once.
The only thing that we can hope now is for the government to do something with the toll rates….which is quite expensive…….and also to improve the overall condition of our useless public transportation system (it’s quite hard to beat the record of some of our bus drivers….who went for tea breaks when they were supposed to reach…say Station A. In the end, the passengers were forced to wait 40 minutes more for the bus).
That’s why, in my humble opinion, rather than hoping the government to reduce the petrol price……it’s better to adjust our style of living a little…. and find more ways to earn some side income. And avoid going into the share market for now. I’ve burnt myself pretty badly already. 
p/s…. if you are brave enough, go to share market and get some blue chips…but be prepared to keep for a long time. If you’re not brave or not a risk taker…….then keep all your cash with you. Put into FD if you want, but the interest rate is very low.
My dad always tells me that back in his time, when he was a teenager, he could get a big bowl of hokkien mee with only 10 cent!! Just imagine that! The value of our money is getting so small, and smaller and smaller…T__T
I haven’t started working yet, haven’t even started university. I am really worried about how I am going to support myself in the future considering that everything has increased in price other than salary!!!
- c H i E n -
3 Jul 08 at 10:31 pm
@ chien
Mabe can get some welfare stuff from the government. Hahahah.
Hmm…not to worry. If your salary is RM 2k per month…then you are considered as lower income citizen.
I shouldn’t be laughing…my salary is not too far from there. =_=
Alvin Lim
3 Jul 08 at 10:33 pm
today’s petrol rate reaches 144 usd per barrel@@” actually. 2k for a month..not enough ady..back to 5 years ago, good lar…but nowadays…sob sob sob…3k maybe just ngam ngam lar @@”
sugarbaby
4 Jul 08 at 1:09 am
As usual, I have an off-the-wall view to this topic. Mother earth is probably happier now that less hydrocarbons and greenhouse gases are clogging its atmosphere due to decreased fuel consumption. I have another off-the-wall opinion. Maybe its time to think of taking the car out of the equation. Move to a place near your work or find work near your place. It may not be so preposterous if you calculate how the total cost of car ownership is burning you. Ownership cost means loan repayment + depreciation + maintenance + gasoline + time wasteage + toll & parking + insurance + etc etc over x years. If ownership is costing you $1,500 a month and you’re earning $6,000 a month, what is stopping you from ditching the car and accepting a $4,500 a month job to be near your home. Same difference in the end, less the fuel headache. But as I once said, man has a secret love affair with his ride since the days of Zorro so I’m sure the idea will never work.
Damien Tan
4 Jul 08 at 9:30 am
@ sugarbaby
Yea, 3k is ngam ngam for single people…mind you. It’s not enough if you have a family to feed. =_=
@ Damien Tan
Ditching your car is not really a good solution in Malaysia. Why? For one, our crime rate is not that low. I don wan to get mugged by other people when cycling. And our weather doesn’t permit that as well…….always raining and sometimes flood…..
The best alternative so far is the public transport…..but that sux…total waste of time and super inefficient.
Moving your place to be nearby your office or vice versa is a good option…but sometimes, one shouldnt restrict oneself due to that. Maybe if you travel a little bit further, you can land a much better and more satisfying job.
Alvin Lim
4 Jul 08 at 10:01 am