It's only '16 sen per litre in Venezuela'
Malaysiakini.com
Jun 5, 2008

Opposition Leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has accused the government of being ‘stupid’ for repeatedly saying that our new petrol retail price of RM2.70 is low when compared to other countries in the region.
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“As a raw oil producing nation, Malaysia should be compared with other oil exporters such as UAE (RM1.19 per litre), Egypt (RM1.03 per litre), Kuwait (RM0.67 per litre), Saudi Arabia (RM0.38 per litre), Nigeria (RM0.32 per litre) and Venezuala (RM0.16 per litre),” she argued.

wan azizah interview 270308 03“To compare prices with Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia is obviously flawed,” the PKR president said in a statement today.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi made an unpopular decision to increase fuel price by 40.6 percent, effective today.

Wan Azizah was also curious about the government’s subsidy facts.

She recounted that Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Shahrir Samad recently said that the oil subsidy was RM56 billion.

Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamad Yakcop stated that the amount is RM28 billion. And a third source, the government’s 2007 financial report marks it at RM12 billion.

The opposition leader estimated that the figure should be closer to RM8-10 billion.

The public, she said, rightfully feel cheated.

Wan Azizah urged the government to review its decision on the fuel hike as it has a huge effect on the Malaysian public, which currently spends 25 percent of their income on transportation.

Oil companies

petrol price in oil producing countries 050608Turning her attention to oil companies, the PKR chief said it was common knowledge that oil companies were paying only US$30 for the exploration of each barrel of oil, and selling the raw oil for US$130 per barrel.

This hefty profit, she claimed, has been enjoyed by oil companies for the past three years.

“Why isn’t the government implementing additional taxes on the extraordinary profits of the oil companies, rather than choosing to increase fuel prices?” she asked.

Wan Azizah said it was possible to sustain the old petrol price of RM1.92, or better still reducing it, if oil companies were taxed more, along with oil, steel and cement producers.

“Why are these companies so important to them, while the public has to suffer?” she asked.

She expressed concern that the government has spent RM40 billion for double-tracking railway project that interconnects Padang Besar with Johor Baru yet is reluctant to pay RM13-15 billion for fuel subsidies.

“Why did they not use the RM40 billion to build comprehensive LRT rails to fix public transportation system as an effort to reduce petrol usage?” Wan Azizah queried.  

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