Malaysians spent the new year eve at petro station!

(八打灵再也31日讯) 即将跨入2008年之际，公众除了忙着参与倒数活动，随着“燃油1月1日起价”的传言不径而走，油站今天的生意也特别兴旺！

民众纷纷接获短讯，指燃油将在1月1日涨价，每公升汽油将调整40仙，隆市多家油站因此出现车龙。 尽管很多民众都抱着半信半疑的态度前往油站添油，不过，至今没有人证实燃油涨价的消息是否属实。

多个政府机构和相关单位一致否认这项消息。 他们也促请民众不要轻信谣言，并直言政府不会在1月1日调整汽油价格。 一些读者也致电报馆指出，蕉赖一带的油站也一度出现汽油供应短缺问题。不过，民众依然耐心排队，等候添油。

A New Year Eve at the petrol station
The above Chinese news was in most of the Chinese dailies, many lined up in the petrol stations until almost mid-night last night as news that there will be a petrol price hike of RM0.20 per lite on the first day of the new year 2008.

In Sibu, as i was returning home at around 10:40 pm last night, i saw a long queue along Pedada road that were almost 150 meters long and thought it was either a major accident or police check-point holding up the traffic. But as i got nearer to the petronas gas station, i realized it was the queue to pump up their vehicles out of the fear on the price hike.

The rumour of the petrol prices hike was circulated in Sibu at around noon as i also received sms from the general public about the rumour. My reply to one of them was "unless the BN is over confident of the coming election or else the petrol prices hike would only comes after the general election which is speculated to be held at around March." But peoples were rather line-up even on the eve of the new year just to "save" that extra RM 10-15. The BN government had in late last year announced that the prices of petrol and diesel would not be increased in 2007, this was an open announcement that they will be increased in 2008!

The DPM, Najib told the country that Malaysia government would be bankrupted with the current subsidy on petrol and diesel prices. That was a very strong indication that the government intended to call for the hike of petrol soon and thus the rumour was actually driven by the DPM, just before we welcome the new year of 2008.

The above Malaysians are constantly living in a state of fear, the fear that their economic and financial situations would get worst in 2008 as prices of all kinds of commodities and services have been increased by some 10-35%. Housewives who have to manage their families' budget were worst hit as there simply isn't enough to spread over with the reducing purchasing power.

The BN government has no measure to ease the fear and worry of Malaysian of their hardships with the news that it will cut back the fuel prices subsidy soon. Heavy inflation in the country is affecting almost every sector of the society except the ruling elites and their cronies. In the August House of Sarawak DUN, there were some BN's YBs who declared that the inflation rate is only 2%, they were either blind or deaf to be able to talk such "rubbish".

The sight of the peoples' scrambling to buy petrol before the new year eve was disturbing to say the least. It showed the peoples' fear of the price hike and also indicated the peoples' lack of confident that 2008 would be a better year. But doesn't it also revealed the fact the BN would not dare to increase the prices of fuels before the election?

So to those who scrambled to the gas station last night, it was simply a warm-up to the real episode after the general election, and that would be a real RM0.50 per liter price hike. Fellow Malaysian, get ready to rumble!

Happy New Year!
David Wong
DAP Sarawak publicity sec.,
1st of January 2008