MONEY WITH A DIMINISHING VALUE by Zaidil
There is a sudden change in atmosphere in Miri city after the fuel price hike. There are less cars on the road. The shopping centres are less crammed and worst of all... there are not that many happy faces around. From what I sensed, it is just the beginning. The experts predicted that the trend is likely to continue that way for quite some time. So what do we do?
Nothing much I am afraid. If you are an optimist, you will say - work harder so that you can earn more to compensate for the diminishing value of the currency. At the rate the price of goods is increasing you have to earn at least 2 times what you earned a month ago in order to maintain the same level of lifestyle.By the end of this year, you have to earn 4 times what you earned in April. This week Abdullah has just announced that if you work in the govt, you are allowed to do a part time business. Wonder how will that affect the already inefficent govt agencies?
On the other hand, if you are a pessimist, you will start looking for scapegoats and punchbags to put the blame on.
The situation is however not all gloom and doom. The bright side of it all is that there is a lot less road accidents ever since the price hike was annunced and people started to use the public transport more. Actually last sunday was the first time that I went to Boulevard supermarket without anyone ramming my butt with the trolley. I had the entire supermarket for myself.
Another positive development is that people started to think of growing their own vegetables and rice which I think is not a bad idea at all. Myself, I am thinking of digging the document bag to search for that land title which my grand father left more than a decade ago. With a bit of luck the cockroaches have not been so hungry to savour the land title and I might be able to harvest my own Bario rice. Oh do I have to fly to Bario to grow Bario rice!!
We should be grateful that Brunei still maintains the fuel subsidy (I don't know when will that last though, and I'm not sure whether it is the most sensible and rational policy). Nevertheless, I'm sure Brunei is also affected by the policy change in Malaysia. Perhaps this effect will probably even bigger than an effect of a reduction in Brunei's fuel subsidy.
Too bad for a country that depends on too much import.
But that's reality. And reality bites.
Salaam
3 comments:
Hi,
Its me again. Short comment on the fuel subsidy.
The fuel subsidy needs to be strongly reviewed (same applies to the electricity tariffs). What's the point of having energy conservation campaigns if the drivers of waste are still allowed to continue. I don't mean to say that it should be removed overnight. We need to carefully set the change in stages so as not to have a detrimental effect to the economy.
Hi, technical issue. I think since the blogger set the privacy level of the post "for everyone", people don't need a multiply account to read it.
I personally feel its good to review the fuel subsidy. Most of the young lads i know was upset when the papers publish of a potential cut to fuel subsidies. Its becoming a trend, where they take subsidies as an entitilment, not a privelage.Its agreeable it should be done slowly,lets say, increase petrol price by 10-20cents per year? depending on the market rate.
But of course, this can have other effects, like people's cry for a decent public transport, raise in salary, cries for yearly subsidies on essential items etc etc. Its a chain reaction, 1 problem after another. dont u tink? =)
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