Frankly speaking, I’m quite upset (it’s an understatement indeed!) with the way our Government deals with our Singapore friends (as well as our Thai friends too), especially those who are driving into Malaysia and bingo, you know what the hell I’m going to write here.
First, it’s such an idiotic act to ban them from filling up the tank. Minus the rocket science methodology, any average joe would know that, the wise thing to do is, make them pay the full price if they must refill. How the petrol operators are going to implement this? Let them be. The Government doesn’t have to intervene and dictate every single thing in this country, especially on how private entities should operate.
Just give them some breathing space and I’m sure they’re going to handle the situation well. Talk about creativity and flexibility in doing business in this country.
Period.
Second, some are arguing that, how about Malaysians who’re currently residing or working in Singapore with Singapore registered vehicles? Well, make them pay the full price too, afterall, they’re earning Singapore dollars and well, they’re not paying tax to the Government of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
So, why bothers? Period.
Third, I read on newspapers and blogs saying that some Singaporeans are threatening not to cross the border after the fuel ban, or even after the fuel price hike? As I said earlier, fuel ban is a ridiculous idea, whoever that think of this, shame on you, n-times.
Instead, they should be allowed to refill at full price, the market price they’re currently paying to their Singapore government, whichever price the Government would like to determine.
Now, how about the left-over who is grumbling with the full price? Well, let them be. Probably the first week after the full price policy comes into picture, the number of visitors crossing the border might be slightly affected.
But hey, to our ministers up there, worry not. By the first weekend itself, probably our friends over the bridge might be justifying the fuel price hike and decide that coming into Malaysia irregardless of the fuel price hike is still a better option, after the much deliberate considerations of financial impact done on a piece of white paper – the pros and cons of crossing border into Malaysia, hence the start of a chain reaction when they’re going to start making phone calls or emailing their friends telling them that Malaysia is a worthy destination afterall!
So, tell me, what’s the big deal? Are we that afraid of our Sinaporean friends, just because we lost the Pulau Batu Puteh or our PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is so afraid that they’re going to withdraw their investment from his pet object Iskandar Malaysia?
The thumb rule is, make them pay the full price. However they want to grumble, let them be. It’s not our social responsibility to use our tax money to subsidize them, besides the fact that they’re many times richer than us!
Otherwise, to our fellow ministers up there, shut up and stop telling the rakyat that the country is poor and can neither afford to do this nor that, if not, why the hell we’re still that rich enough to fork out additional RM1 billion for the sale of fuel to motorists from our neighborhood countries?
Tell me about it.
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i don’t think they should be banned from topping up. just not the subsidies lor if that’s the core of the problems. but the main thing is that people in power don’t have meetings to discuss these things so they say the same things in public (at least on final or almost final decisions, their personal views are a different matter) and avoid confusing the heck of everyone?
The Singaporeans live our government because they can see how the government and the police are messing up the country in every way possible.
yup…don’t ban….pay the market price for petrol
The dual pricing will work once the pertol stations are installed with the proper mechanism or system. Which will take time. It is a good idea to me too, but probably not workable as of yet.
But as of now, I’m with the govt in saying subsidized petrol belongs to Malaysians and Malaysians only. "Malaysian Singapore PR residents"? Well, that’s a whole new debate altogether. And you can see what a lot of people are saying on susan loone’s blog posting (can i post a link here? If i cant, you may delete :) )
http://sloone.wordpress.com/2008/06/03/fuel-ban-raising-temperatures-down-south/#comment-53263
It seems to me we are flip-floppin’ once more just because we want to "take care" of our neighbour’s feeling.
But our neighbour are taking away our money, not intended for them in the first place. They should be made to pay the full price, with full force of enforcement regardless of where they are originally from: you drive a Singapore-registered car, you pay the full price.
It will not backfire on South Johor’s local economy, for that I am very certain. The Singaporean mentality towards an unfavourable policy is such that:
1. Complain like hell for the first week.
2. Return to the same old life (with the new unfavarouble policy) on the second week (just because the canned peas at Jaya Jusco JB is cheaper than those in NTUC Singapore)
3. Everybody is happy again by the third week
I’m sure an iron-fist like enforcement will go down well with the Singaporeans. Afterall, it is something that they live with everyday.
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