PM: We have to sacrifice 
The Star – 1 March 2006
KUALA LUMPUR: The estimated annual saving of RM4.4bil in fuel subsidy will be spent to improve the public transport system, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said.  
He said it was not the Government’s intention to burden the people when it increased the price of fuel.  
“The money that we save from the subsidy will be returned to the rakyat in the form of a better public transport system,” he told a press conference after a briefing at Bank Negara here yesterday.  
“The cost to improve the system is high, and now we have the money to improve it.”   
The prime minister said it was a small sacrifice by the rakyat for a better facility.  
The price of petrol and diesel went up by 30 sen a litre yesterday. The Prime Minister reiterated that this would be the only fuel price rise for the year.  
“There will be no more increase until December. For 2007, I will not speculate,” he said.  
Abdullah also said that in reality, the fuel subsidy only benefited those who drove cars with bigger engine capacities.  
“Those riding motorcycles and driving small cars don’t really enjoy the subsidy as their vehicles don’t consume a lot of fuel,” he said.  Asked why the fuel price increase was not made gradually, Abdullah said that doing so would only create more problems.  
“Doing it bit by bit is more difficult because the prices of other goods would increase more often,” he said.  “It is better to increase it once and if prices of other things need to be increased, too, it will also happen once.”   
On why the profit made by Petronas was not being used to absorb the price increase, Abdullah said the company’s contribution to the country was in other forms, such as tax and royalty.  Asked whether he was aware that the public had voiced their unhappiness over the price increase, Abdullah replied: “Who will be happy when prices of things go up.  
“But we did not take away all (the subsidy). If we did that, the price of the fuel would be much higher, maybe in the region of RM2.50 a litre.”   
Source: The Star | http://thestar.com.my