Friday, June 06, 2008

Oil price


It might be late for me to talk about oil price since this issue has been discussed in newspapers, television and some other media. I was busy these few days, studied for BITK exam (this exam is for those who get RM40 allowance working in finance section -- if you pass this you will get RM40 extra, yes I know it is peanut but no one give you money for nothing ok?) which the exam was yesterday. It was very hard. Yes, no one will give you RM40 for free... remember?

At first I got a sms about the oil price will increase in August. Then I got another sms telling me that the oil price will be increase on Thursday June 5 2008. This was the worst oil price increment ever in Malaysia's history. Why?

1. The increment was announced without warning within 24 hours.
2. It is 40% increment worse than before -- which the price now is RM2.70 per liter (78 cents increment from the old price)

Ok I got some informations through newspapers, television, radio and also blogs. There are some blogs that catch my attention. They are Tun Dr Mahathir, Zaharuddin, Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo and Patrick Teoh.

I love this fact by Tun Dr Mahathir :

Can the Government subsidise? I am the “adviser” to Petronas but I know very little about it beyond what is published in its accounts. What I do know may not be very accurate but should be sufficient for me to draw certain conclusions.

Roughly Malaysia produces 650,000 barrels of crude per day. We consume 400,000 barrels leaving 250,000 barrels to be exported.

Three years ago the selling price of crude was about USD30 per barrel. Today it is USD130 – an increase of USD100. There is hardly any increase in the production cost so that the extra USD100 can be considered as pure profit.

Our 250,000 barrels of export should earn us 250,000 x 100 x 365 x 3 = RM27,375,000,000 (twenty seven billion Ringgit).

But Petronas made a profit of well over RM70 billion, all of which belong to the Government.

By all accounts the Government is flushed with money.




There are polls on Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo's blog :

Pada Pandangan Anda, Siapakah Calon Terbaik Mengganti Pak Lah Suatu Hari Nanti






Adakah kepimpinan tertinggi UMNO perlu ditukar?






Cool isn't it? As I promised to some bloggers I will try to write in proper manner which I will be neutral -- not bashing any side even though I know it's so hard since everybody knows what is going on. There are some actions that can be taken :

1. Boycott - Some of us might think this is the best way to stop the oil price. But is it possible? For how long? Boycott is not the best solution in my mind in fact in your mind too. After all our home is far away from the workplace and we need vehicle from one place to another.

2. Public transportation - It is easy for those single male or female to use public transport. But what about those who has family? Public transport not quite suitable for them. The public transport like bus never punctual which make the whole family have to wake up so early in the morning for work and school. Talking about LRT (to make it simpler it's a train), not all places in Malaysia have LRT in fact not all states have this facilities. So, to say public transportation is the best choice -- I don't think so.

3. Buy motorcycle - Some of my friends even suggested to buy a motorcycle. How relevant? Again, back to number 2 it is not suitable for people who has family. Yes, it is a great advantage if you are not married. You should use motorcycle instead of car. You can save a lot of money even though it is more risky than a car.

4. Buy bicycle - This suggestion goes to people who live near to his workplace. This is the best vehicle ever since it is environmental friendly and never use petrol. But how many peoples that are so lucky to live so close to their workplace? I bet you can count by fingers.

Since all above are not suitable (at least for me who go to work with mom and sister), I guess I have to use car and still spending money for petrol.

What we expect from government?

1. Increase salary - Since the cost of living increase, I guess it's time for government to increase the salary as well. Not only in government sector but also private sector. If you compare to other countries, their salary are higher compared to us. So, with this oil price increment I expect items price like groceries will be affected. If the salary remains the same big inflation problem is going to occur.

2. Financial Education - Some of us still struggling in maintaining their finance. Most of Malaysians are lack of financial knowledge which is going bad each year. When thing like this happen, to those who live with enough food to eat and enough food to live based on their salary will suffer the most. They need to learn how to do budget and try to save more. But how possible if the salary remain the same? Back to number 1. This number 2 only can be implemented if government increase the salary at the first place.

3. Maintain groceries price - Government should take initiative to maintain the groceries price. Most shops and malls will increase the price due to transportation charges involved. Yes, it is again about the petrol. Malaysians are suffering badly from the oil price and to live with everything expensive really a hard thing to accept. The price might be a little expensive than before but not as high up as a mountain.

Government should make some efforts to calm us, Malaysian. With ideologies from some parties which is positive and relevant, it might bring chaos to the country such as demonstrations and worse a riot. We do not want to see this kind of incident happen in Malaysia. As far as I can see, no strategy and positive action has been taken yet. We have so many brilliant and extraordinary ministers and I believe they can think of something. Some peoples say "Change your lifestyle..."


video


Honestly, I miss my old Malaysia and hope everything just back to normal. Amin...

43 comments:

  1. Our problems are:

    1. I am sure whether the federal government has a think tank in making the decisions. Even if they have, I am sure they could not make any different since the government won't listen to them

    2. The money rebate is nonsense. It wont enough to cater the increase of oil. So, why they still give it to the people - in a sense that some of the money may not receive by the rightful owner.

    3. The money from left from the subsidiary cut (including those rebets for motorcycle and car under 2000cc) should be spent on building up more public transport such as LRT and monorail. I could see myself how other countries have much organized and complete public transportation until people only use their personal car for long distance/family travels.

    4. Taxis should open to all roots. No color coding (for rural, state etc) and all are required to use meter. That is JPJ and Police damn job to make sure taxi operators abide the law

    Cadangan kerajaan yang tak sudah2 ialah rakyat perlu ubah cara hidup. Orang kaya boleh ar ubah, orang miskin nak ubah ape? or they want us to live like those Japanese's time? Makan ubi kayu, naik basikal dan pakai pelita minyak tanah? ish2...

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  2. I'm Canadian and I pay $1.32/liter. I'm going to have to figure out what that is in your currency, unless you wanna do it for me so I don't have to do the math. LOL Have a great weekend! :o)

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  3. kalau faisal dapat RM40, leh la kaver skit untuk duit minyak ..

    x pun jom la ramai2 dok kat venezuela .. minyak baru 16sen seliter

    :)

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  4. Anonymous12:12 PM

    Hmm...*big grin*

    1)boycott - nope...still need fuel to travel
    2)public transport - not practical!
    3)motocycle - no license and gayat!
    4)bicycle - same as no 3.

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  5. bluecrystaldude - Love your points pal.

    1. Yes agree with you as BN still hold the majority and it's hard for the opposition to speak out loud. But I think they still can do something about it. They seem to be smarter than those in BN.

    2. Money rebate actually blind those uneducated people. I have some friends you are uneducated (this does not mean I look down at them) and they were so happy when government announced about the RM600+ rebate a year. Pity them as they were blinded with that amount oh money without do simple calculation that actually government just give them RM50 a month. Is that enough? Not that I want to say we should not be grateful but this tactic seems so lousy.

    3. We are lack of the public transport route. Just compare with other country in Asia, let say Japan. They have a very good public transport route for train. You do not even need to walk for a mile to get to the station and everybody seem happy to use it. As you said, they only use the car for long distance journey which this is good but will government make any effort towards it? This is the question. I puked when Shahrir said "We can use public transport to cut cost. Why we could live before without car but we can't now?" Look who speaks! Does he needs to spend a single penny from his pocket for oil? Goodness!

    4. Taxi price will surely go high as rocket since most of them are using diesel and the price increase by RM1 per liter which is more than our oil increment. Those who use diesel to save suffer more. Poor taxi drivers. Sigh.

    The suggestion "makan ubi kayu" (eating tapioca) suggested by Shahrir. Sometimes I think he speaks through the wrong end like Patrick Teoh mentioned in his blog :)

    tammy - This is what I get for you :

    Saturday, June 7, 2008

    1 Canadian Dollar = 3.20188 Malaysian Ringgit
    1 Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) = 0.31232 Canadian Dollar (CAD)

    Now, you understand about the price in Malaysia :)

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  6. lily - Wah sampai Venezuela haha. Jauh sangat tuh plus, entah dapat kerja ke tak di sana sebab bukan kerakyatan sana :P

    RM40 tu tak boleh nak tampung suku pun harga minyak :(

    love-n-hate - Then you are one of the oil victim like me :(

    We can't run and hide and pretend like there is nothing happen. Can we? :(

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  7. Anonymous12:16 PM

    we're just not quite there yet!! So, he can stop comparing us with Singapore or any country...

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  8. Hehe too many HE do the comparison. In fact all the ministers? Duh!

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  9. We need some smart brains to make our country good again. No countries in this world dropped because of oil price- maybe we need a new PM! shhhhhhhh!

    Faisal, I have a meme for you HERE

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  10. Erm, I'm thinking of using bicycle, plus it can make my body slimmer. But, the ministers will stay "healthy" and "better size" because they can afford to pay for oil's price.

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  11. farah - That is really a straight forward statement :) A smile on my face now.

    Thanks Farah for the meme. I'll do it as soon as possible :)

    faizal - You got the point right. We suffer and they smile :)

    We have to find solution for us at least even though the solution does not bring any good for the whole world :)

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  12. Anonymous3:32 PM

    we can took farah's advice!!! new PM!!! the less whining one...

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks dear for the link : http://niamah.blogspot.com/2008/06/apa-f.html

    I laughed out loud when watching the video :)

    Yes, new PM. But how possible? RPK was right, government should afraid of us... not otherwise :)

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  14. kalau melihat daripada segi urban planning..

    i would suggest a more dense city will make efficient public transportation, redevelopment of city center, a good city to have a walk..

    it's better to have long term planning rather than short term solution...

    *nasib baik nasi minyak tak pakai petrol*

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  15. thinking of getting an electric car that we can 'charge' at any electric polls...haha

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  16. All I have to say is... what is happening to this country?

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  17. Itu baru 78 sen...esok2 tatau lagi tu..hehe..kalo terusan macam ni camno nak naik kete lagi..kalo keje jauh yg tak leh naik moto ngan beskal camno?..
    Setiap masalah tentu ada penyelesaiannya..kita tunggu bulan 12 nanti..pasti ada sesuatu yg mengejutkan berlaku...who knows?..

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  18. katunx - Yes agree with you. As I said in the post, the public transportation route should be developed. I saw Penang's plan for something we called "Penang LRT" but since the Kerajaan Pusat has changed which hold by the Opposition now, I guess the project will be forgotten for a while. Not the matter of they do not want to do, but the matter of the budget has been taken back. So, the opposition has to find their own sources to make it happen. Yes, I do whine as what best I could do? I hope the Penang LRT will be built soon, so that we can keep our car at home and use it to work or malls.

    I'm lucky because I still survive but pity for some peoples they are dying caused by sudden attack of oil price.

    neomesuff - Electric? I don't think we have implemented that in Malaysia. You can try NGV instead. To find out what is NGV, you can go to this link for more details :

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gas_vehicle

    Since it is not well known in whole Malaysia, I guess it's not the right time to change to NGV yet.

    rozella - I try my best to stay neutral at any cause. I hate politic now and then as it never clean and all "they" know is their own pocket and life. Malaysian? Any good if "they" consider about us? The thought of nothing can change the fact is their best principle at the moment. I hope no bad tragedy happen in the nearest future. Lets pray.

    ad - Dengar kata Ogos 2008 nak naik lagi? Siapa nak jawab tuh :) Sejauh mana lagi alasan "bersyukur" boleh digunapakai? Semuua orang memang kena bersyukur, tapi itu bukanlah tol untuk kerajaan tersenyum riang :)

    Disember masih jauh, tapi harap-harap perubahan berlaku. Macam Ad cakap... who knows? :)

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  19. Faisal, hahaah yeah! it all boils down to the one man who makes the collective decision. don't compare with other countries to make their decision look right. Having brain alone is not enough, you need to polish it too sometimes. :)

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  20. Hehe I guess that is why some peoples have big head and some peoples have small ones. He should explore more of his brain like Albert Einstein? :)

    Now it's the matter of how to stay alive in this expensive world :)

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  21. Well, I'm just "sort of" glad that I don't drive. At least I won't be blamed (by my mom) for using up the fuel in the car and not RE-fuelling! LOL!

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  22. My personal opinions on these:

    1. Boycott - No way. The only ones who will rugi from this action will just be ourselves anyway.

    2. Public Transport - Apa itu? Our bus system no need to say much, RapidKL isn't very rapid nor punctual either. Train - Hello? Not everybody lives in freakin' KL/PJ. And even some places in these ares don't have any train to speak of, what more other states.

    3. Motorcycle - Sure it's small (easier parking) and consumes less petrol, but not everybody has a license and it's not exactly a 1-day course to get one. =.=

    4. Bicycle - Best mode of transport? I don't think so. Like you said, not everybody works near where they stay. Even students don't go to school by bike anymore, for crying out loud! >.< And provided the workplace is cycling distance there are still several potential problems/hazards: 1)kena hit and run by other motorists, 2)cycle over a pothole and you might be sent flying straight to hospital (medical fee to add insult to injury),3)and IF you actually survive the journey to the destination, the bike might not even be where you left it when you come out again.

    Btw, i still have a lot of stuff in my head but i'm having some kinda mental block. -_- Btw, loved the video. XD

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  23. Faisal, that was a really funny statement! well, big heads alone is not enough, they should know how to use the head too! and if you have a small head but you use it to the max, then, good! LOL

    yeah, expensive world, stagnant salary huh?

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  24. shemah - Lol you're such a good daughter. Since you don't drive, you can save a lot of money from buying petrol. Ouch! It cost me like RM400 a month. Imagine if they really increase the oil price for RM4 per liter in August? I'm dying :(

    lauraleia - Lol love the points and I'm still trying hard to figure out the best solution for us to stay alive. I mean instead of using car? I do hope NGV will be popular soon. But it will eat up your boot space. The tank is really big though. I hope you can share some ideas on how to solve this problem... instead of buying more and more petrol :(

    farah - Yes it's hard to live in expensive world with empty pocket. Poverty is everywhere and yet the living cost rocket up without care much of peoples who live below average.

    People are talking about oil price everywhere and I'm quite tired of this issue. What else can we do better than whining? Sigh. I need some fresh air to breath... fuuhhh!

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  25. Anonymous10:41 PM

    Read ur blog, not quite agree with what mahathir said.

    I've watch tv n saw some economist discuss about the petrol hike issue, to summarize, we have such a terrible economy today is because of mahathir, not abdullah.

    their theory is simple, petrol subsidie consist of whole malaysia subsidie of 79%

    in common economy term, this is not a healthy phenomena, because it consist too huge % and doesn't benefit the poor n needy

    the money who suppose to save can actually use to do something more benefit, actually the gov does nothing wrong to cancel this subsidiary

    but problem is gov do it too radical, it should be impose slowly

    the only mistake our gov did was not strengthen our economy and make us able to survive these price hike phenomena

    so indirectly, they r hinting abdullah was only try to correct the mistake of mahathir

    mahathir think petrol export country should enjoy discount on petrol

    but economist doesn't think this theory is correct, because this theory only work for product tat can be reproduce, and petrol is product tat is lesser from time to time

    our gov last few year was only burning the money for future, when it come to present, we r out of resource

    few years ago other countries already plan ahead how to improve public transport since petrol is getting lesser n lesser

    but our gov did not take action, so when come to a stage where malaysia dun have such money, it explode

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  26. Inilah Malaysia kita...

    Cintailah Malaysia...habis tu apa kuasa kita untuk mengubah segalanya?

    semalam pak lah da terima cadangan nak potong elaun menterii 10 percent.....hmmm tengok la nanti apa jadi k...

    ReplyDelete
  27. tomhawk - I agree with what you said. You got some points too. Government should provide us better public transportation right? At least those who want to save and avoid to use car can use public transport such as bus and train. But we are stuck there, no public transport and we still have to use petrol at any case. To those do not use car it's an advantage but to those who have to, then it's unfortunate to them?

    I read what the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad said in The Sun. He said that the oil is not infinite and it is almost gone. What attracts my attention was about the fleet card. Some lorries and buses which registered with the his ministry will get this fleet card. The problem here is those who have fleet card still charge for the petrol. Maybe I did not mention earlier about this fleet card for those who have no idea at all about this fleet card. This fleet card give lorries and buses fix rate for oil which they enjoy the old price until now. So, they are taking advantage on the oil price and charge more to the customers! That is why all prices just increase drastically as the oil price. Government should make some efforts to stop this cheating.

    Still I cannot agree with the government statement regarding change the lifestyle. I can list some names just on my friends list about how good our lifestyle is. We do not simply buying things and most of the time we stay home. So, what is the problem there? Seems nothing but we still get hurt by the oil price increment anyway. Actually its not about lifestyle at all but about debts that already exist. Even though it is not a bad debt, but we have to struggle for surviving. Again, I cannot imagine those whose salary is RM1,000 and below. Yes I can just ignore but when it happen to your sibling, relative or you friends it will surely open you eyes wide and see how the oil price affect others life.

    Anyway, good comment tomhawk :) Hope you will keep reading my blog.

    axim - Mesti Pak Lah tengah struggle dan pening kepala. Harap-harap dia boleh membuat perubahan :)

    Aku ada BITK examination di Kolej Matrikulasi Penang. Aku makan breakfast di area situ dan nampak gambarr Pak Lah, ayah beliau dan juga datuk beliau. Tersenyum sejenak dan memikirkan alangkah bagusnya jika dia mengikut jejak ayah dan datuknya seperti diharapkan oleh rakyat suatu ketika dahulu :)

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  28. But Mr.Faisal. everything in this world has it good and bad side. In the case of oil's price, the way of the subsidy to be given seems more fair. Because before this, rich people also get the subsidy, but by given the rebut, it might be more fair. However, the bad side, people still feel suffer because we use oil everyday.

    Now I feel it becomes complicated.

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  29. Oh Mr. Faisal, just to let you know. I currently write more entry about EURO. :) please visit http://fezanez.blogspot.com.

    Lets share thoughts on EURO 2008 too, more relaxing than oil's price issue. :)

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  30. Hehe :D faisal.. I heard lots of complain about the oil price issue :) if we keep complain each other and the demonstration.. how can this problem issue can be solve ?

    I think my ancient music instrument and the drum beat will more relaxing than the oil price problem hehehe like your friends said above about the euro :D

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  31. Okay, this comment is totally unrelated to the petrol price issue. I just wanted to say "Thanks!" for visiting my bloggie. =) And, well, i've read The Golden Compass way before the movie came out and it [the movie] was actually pretty good. (I gave up on Harry Potter long ago. =.=) Totally loved the bear and Nicole Kidman was just fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous9:19 AM

    This post comes at the right time. I just don't understand why the government always fail to take care of the people especially those who are really poor. I think the number one problem faced by the government is not the increment in fuel price, but the efficiency of the government and the problem of corruption.

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  33. pasti lepas nih susah nak makan nasik minyak dah...

    beras mahai, minyak mahai...

    alehaiiii.....

    layan EURO dulu la :D

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  34. salam.. apa khabar..

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  35. faizal - Well talking about subsidy, actually before it was fair though. Let see in a case like this :

    A millionaire buys a cheap car, so he gets back RM600+ too?

    So, what's the different? Not all "rich people" use big and luxurious car. Many prefer to stay low so that they can avoid theft, insecurity and not to forget income tax :)

    I don't see this will help the poor and the rich have to pay depend on their wealth. Pity the poor ones still :(

    I will visit your Euro post soon. Love Portugal! :)

    etavasi - Some people might join the demonstration to show their frustration and to make government listen to their voice. Is there any better way for them to voice out? Do you think government, ministers or even PM will listen to them either oral or written methods? I do not think so. But I agree with you that demonstration should not be exist, not at all. In other countries, demonstration work most of the time. Maybe it is because of democracy. I did mention before, Malaysia is not a democracy country :) Or it is?

    lauraleia - Agree with you that Nicole is a very good actress, indeed. Love the great bear too :) Overall I love the movie even though pretty upset about the witch part... Expected the witch part was much better. :)

    sheng loong - You got the point. Yes, I agree with you. They are focusing on the debt that caused by the government itself, corruption is everywhere. Hail Malaysia!

    13may - Haha macam mana nak kawin ye kalau takde nasi minyak? Susah ni... hehe. Layan bola bukan leh kawin le... Tapi Euro memang best. Portugal rules! :)

    ijad - Salam, khabar baik. Harap Ijad sihat jua.

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  36. Anonymous2:11 PM

    paklah said in last few days news,

    "NO MORE PRICE HIKE in FUEL!!!"

    but, i don't believe him. the last time he said something like that, end up the rm2.70 per litre of fuel price the very next day.

    what's more to believe sir??

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  37. As long as the oil price in the world maintain, then we should not worry. But if the oil price in the world increase, do you think government can keep their promise? I doubt.

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  38. kesilapan utama kerajaan hari ini..

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  39. Banyak faktor untuk difikirkan dan diketengahkan. Bagi rakyat selain mengeluh dan membuat demonstrasi, haruslah memikirkan cara-cara untuk menaikkan taraf hidup ke takuk yang lebih baik. Kena kreatif mencari pendapatan... :)

    Tapi saya tak nafikan point saudara tentang kesilapan kerajaan. Ada banyak kesilapan pada kerajaan hari ini :)

    ReplyDelete
  40. Pelik knp org pilih muhidin yasin nih. Padahal org sendiri tau perangai dia. Biarpun dia low profile. tp .... em itul sjlah. xnak buruk2kan org tak baik.

    Teruskan menentang korupsi. Korupsi peringkat bawahan pun perlu ditentang. Nak masuk ipta pun, guna org dalm?.... ntahapaapa.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Ye betul. Saya agak pelik juga kenapa TS Muhyiddin Yassin pula yang menjadi pujaan rakyat? Saya berpendapat yang sama kerana dia low profile malah dia tidak terlibat dengan mana-mana skandal. Itu kata saya... saya tak pasti pula apa pandangan rakyat yang lain.

    Bukan sahaja nak masuk IPTA malah nak masuk kerja pun sama. Hasilnya kroni di sana sini. Itu tak termasuk rasuah.

    Semoga perubahan dapat diimplementasikan ke dalam Malaysia Baru.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Oil price keep on rising suddenly. Before that, rice price also up.
    We have to tighten up our belt now,
    Faisal, I have a an award for you-the biggest award award from my blog-big heart, please take it, thanks, have a nice day.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Thank you Coolingstar9! I'm happy that I have another award :) I will put it on my tag & award blog.

    My plan is to find more side income to make sure I'm still alive :)

    ReplyDelete

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