Our ministers in handling fuel price hike
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 | 1:11 am @ SK
Out of nowhere, fuel becomes a hot topic in Malaysia, which make talk of defection among BN MPs immersing itself into the fuel talk.
Recently, Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop revealed that the government expects to review fuel subsidies before the 2009 federal budget in August.
He said this measure is to ensure that the financial aid goes directly to the poor and deserving.
Yesterday, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Shahrir Abdul Samad echoed the statement and hinted that petrol and diesel prices may go up beginning August, when the subsidy system is re-structured.
Subsequently, the suspense comes from no other than the PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi himself when he said a new fuel subsidy scheme will be announced Wednesday and take immediate effect to prevent speculations, immediately making Shahrir Samad looks pretty bad and incompetent afterall.
He said might be. As far as the subsidy management scheme is concerned, the final decision will be made on Wednesday. […]
It was to be decided last Friday but it so happened that many of the ministers (involved) were attending conferences overseas. We wanted all to be present to make the decision. […]
We want it to be effective immediately. If not, there will be a lot of speculation.
Are we witnessing the tip of iceberg of how Pak Lah’s XL-size cabinet overruled each other, only to be questioned by fellow journalists and only to find out the contradicting statements made by each other?
Besides the blatant fact that our cabinet is occupied by fellow dignitaries without clear ministerial functionalities and responsibilities, it merely go on to affirm numerous allegations of the kind of weak leadership who are sitting atop us right at this critical moment.
Now you and I know ministers are not as smart as what we think they’re and that probably explains why Singapore loves Malaysia in post-Mahathir era.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:23 am
Saying that all our ministers are incompetent is a little bit evil I suppose, because well, if not all they have done a lot of things that benefit the Rakyat. That being said, there is still a huge deal that they can improve on. That said also, if there is indeed a shift in fed government in the future, can we be sure the new set of leaders will be ever so competent and capable?
June 3rd, 2008 at 8:54 pm
The issue of the impending price increase for petrol is badly handled from the PR angle. We know that we will eventually have to pay more. It’s a matter of managing the people’s expections.
If AAB dosn’t know how to handle a problem like this one, he doesn’t know how to lead.
June 6th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
[…] by the PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, he was seen telling the world that petrol and diesel prices may go up beginning August, when the subsidy system is […]