The 2nd Tsunami! ( Part 2)

Malaysian experienced the first Tsunami on 8th March 2008 after the shocking 12th General Election results and is now feeling the effect of the second Tsunami from the drastic fuel hike.

In an immediate response to the sudden petrol hike from the government after the cabinet meeting on Wednesday, DAP have organised simultaneous protest against the price increase at Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh on the next morning. In Kuala Lumpur, among the DAP leaders who attended the protest were Teresa Kok, Fong Kui Lun, Tan Seng Giaw, Lim Lip Eng and Janice Lee which was lead by Cheras MP YB Tan Kok Wai.

"We want the Government to immediately announce that the increment will be stopped immediately because the public anger has reached to the maximum. We call on the Government to act wisely. Stop robbing the rakyat!" Tan pronounced.He warned that the Government's failure to do so would result in a nightmare.

His colleague, Teresa Kok, added that businesses would be seriously affected by the last-minute price increase and would thereby pass on the higher costs to the consumer."We can anticipate the prices going up. This is a serious inflation. We've been told the Lorry Association are going to increase their transportation costs."We're a petrol exporting country. All these years, the government earned so much from export (of oil). Instead of increasing petrol prices, they should be giving back to the people. They don't talk about this anymore," she noted.

This afternoon some 200 people held a peaceful assembly at Komtar in George Town, Penang.They held placards condemning the hike, chanted anti-government slogans and called on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to step down immediately.

Kebun Bunga state assemblyperson Jason Ong Khan Lee, who was at the scene, cautioned that the fuel hike would elicit social unrest and spark off new wave of criminality as middle and lower wage earners would struggle to meet the ends.He warned that the surging cost would force several industries to close down or downsize, resulting in economy collapse."The federal government should review the fuel hike immediately to prevent such socio-economic tribulations," he said.Change YOUR lifestyle BK Ong questioned whether the government leaders were prepared to change their lifestyle, a cliché used to the people, to adjust to the fuel hike."They should eat less, cook less, travel less, socialise less, tighten their belts, buy less cars, use less energy and perhaps live lifeless."Are they prepared to do so?" he shouted to the crowd, adding that politicians should not preach what they won't practice.

Meanwhile the reaction from the Sabah leaders were uncompromising.Sapp president Yong Teck Lee warned Abdullah Ahmad Badawi of a serious political fallout for the BN, the party's Youth wing went a step further by calling for the resignation of the prime minister and his cabinet."If the government losses the faith of the people, then it will find it even more difficult to govern," he said."For those who have just been earning enough to make ends meet every month, the fuel price increases will be a serious blow as they will have to now pay more at the petrol pump and when they buy groceries," Yong elaborated.

He said even middle-income earners would be reeling from the inflationary effect resulting from the fuel price hike.In this regard, Yong doubted the impact of the one-off RM625 rebate for vehicle owners and RM125 for motorcyclists as the there was a time lapse between when money was spent on fuel and when they could receive rebates.Yong further added that many people continue to question why Malaysia as a net petroleum exporting nation till 2014 was experiencing a negative impact from a spike in global oil prices."The man on the street is puzzled as to why Petronas is making so much money while the ordinary folks are losing out,"" he pointed out.Losing trust and confidence.

While Yong was merely sounding a warning bell, Sapp Youth chief was more straightforward in calling for leaders who "failed to safeguard people's interest" to step down.Au Kam Wah, in a statement issued from Kota Kinabalu, said these leaders should allow others who are more capable to take over.

Meanwhile The Malaysian Insider reported that during the Umno Supreme Council retreat, a few ministers disagreed with the decision to reduce subsidies and allow the pump price of petrol to increase to RM2.70 per litre. In this group were Muhyiddin and Rais. The Malaysian Insider understands that the Foreign Minister was also among a clutch of ministers who during the weekly Cabinet meeting on Wednesday felt that the government should hold off reducing the subsidies for a few months.

But the majority of ministers during the Cabinet meeting including Najib and Muhyiddin felt that the government could not afford to continue with high levels of subsidy for much longer. Since the 40 per cent petrol price hike was implemented on Thursday, there has been an adverse reaction on the ground, including from Umno members.
Stinging SMSes have been sent from the grassroots to politicians in the capital, questioning the fitness of Abdullah and the Cabinet to continue running the country and pleading with the leadership to show empathy.

This strong reaction from the Umno ground may have prompted Muhyiddin to have second thoughts about the timing of the price increase. With the branch elections only weeks away and anger against the hike percolating across the country, Umno politicians seeking higher office in the party will have to distance themselves from this unpopular decision of reducing subsidies.
There is a good chance of many more Umno ministers slamming the price hike before the branches start meeting in mid-July.