what isnt reported

Hi dear readers, The following post is lifted directly out of an email that I have got, and is purely for your information and is not representative of my view whatsoever. So please do read with a big pinch of salt! =D Some of you may have already gotten it... for those that have not.. here it is...

What isn't mentioned in mainstream media.

Malaysian percapita income USD 5000 Vs. Singaporean percapita income USD 25000

Recently the star has made a comparison of prices in Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia.

For Thailand it is quoted at RM3.90/liter, however are they aware that in Thailand cars are cheaper than Malaysia by RM10,000? They only pay for their driver's license once in their lifetime, no yearly renewals and you can drive from Hadtyai to Bangkok in a six lane highway without paying any TOLLS!Whereas here in Malaysia you have have to pay for yearly renewals of your driving license, roadtax and TOLLS!!!.
For Singapore, it was quoted as RM5.20/liter. Please quote in Singapore dollars because they earn Sing dollars. You might as well say Europeans pay RM10/liter. RM5.20/liter = S$2.20/liter...keeping in mind that Singapore is not a crude oil exporter. Are they saying that you fill up petrol in Singapore by paying ringgit?

In economics, dollar to dollar must be compared like an apple to an apple. Not comparing durians in malaysia to durians in Japan. Of course-lah, Japan is not a durian producer. Comparing Malaysian durians to Thailand durians makes more sense.

For Indonesia, we may say is cheaper at RM2.07/liter but compare that to their level of income!!!

Now, Let us compare the price with OIL PRODUCING countries.

UAE - RM1.19/litre
Egypt - RM1.03/litre
Bahrain - RM0.87/litre
Qatar - RM0.68/litre
Kuwait - RM0.67/litre
Saudi Arabia - RM0.38/litre
Iran - RM0.35/litre
Nigeria - RM0.32/litre
Turkmenistan - RM0.25/litre
Venezuela - RM0.16/litre
MALAYSIA - RM2.70/litre

RM2.70 : The individual perspective.
As of last month a Toyota Vios would cause a damage of about RM89000. In the International Market a Vios is about USD 19000. USD19000 = RM62,700 ( Using USD1=RM3.30). That means Malaysian Owners pay RM26,300 extra. This RM26,300 should be the cost of operation, profits and tax because the transportation costs have been factored in.

RM26,300 / RM625 petrol rebate per year translates to a Vios being used for 42.08 years. I do understand that the RM625 is a rebate given by the government, but it also means that one has to use the Vios for 42.08 years just to make back the amout paid in taxes for the usage of a foreign car. Would anyone use any kind of car for that long?

Now with these numbers in front of us, does that subsidy sound like a subsidy or does it sound like a penalty? This just seems to be a heavy increment in our daily cost of living as we are not only charged with high car taxes but also with a drastic increase in fuel price.

With all the numbers listed out, i urge all Malaysians to join me in analysing the situation further.

Car taxation is government profit, Fuel sales is Petronas (GLC) profit which aslo translates into government profit. The government may ridicule us Malaysians by saying look at the world market and fuel prices worldwide. Please, we are Malaysians, we fought off the British, had an international port in the early centuries, we are home to a racially mixed nation and WE ARE NOT STUPID.!!

We know the international rates are above the USD 130/barrel. We understand the fact that the fuel prices are increasing worldwide and we also know that major scientists are still contemplating on why this phenomenon is happening. Some blame Bush and his plunders around the world and some blame climate change and there are others who say petroleum "wells" are getting scarce.

Again we go backto the numbers to be more straight forward.

1 barrel = 159 litres x RM2.07/litre = RM429 or USD 134
On 1 hand, we are paying the full cost of one barrel of crude oil with RM2.70 per litre but on the other hand the crude oil only produces 46% of fuel.

M'sia sells crude oil per barrel at USD130, buys back fuel per barrel at USD134. And not forgetting, very barrel of fuel is produced with 2 barrels of crude oil.

1 barrel crude oil - produces 46% of fuel
2 barrels crude oil- produces 1 barrel of fuel.
In other words, each time we sell 2 barrels of crude oil we buy back one barrel of fuel.

Financially,
Malaysia sells 2 barrels of crude oil @ USD130 = USD260 = RM858, then
Malaysia will buy back fuel @ USD134/barrel = RM442/barrel. Thus, Malaysia earn net extra USD 126 = RM416 for each 2 barrels of crude oil sold/ exported vs importing 1 barrel of fuel.!!!
(USD260 - 134 =RM416)
So where is this extra USD126/ barrel income channeled to by the M'sian Govt??????

So this is where I got curious. Where is the subsidy if we are paying 46% of the price of a barrel when the production of petrol/barrel of crude oil is still only 46% ?
In actual fact, we are still paying for this as they are charged in the form of fuel surcharge by airlines and road taxes for the building of roads and many more excuses.

As far as i know, only the politicians who live in putrajaya that come for parliament meetings in K.L ( approxiamately 60km) are the ones to gain as they claim their fuel and toll charges from the money of the Rakyat's tax.

It is so disappointing to see this happen time and time again to the Malaysian public, where they are deceived by the propaganda held by the politicians and the controls they have over the press.

Which stupid idiot equates rebates for the rich or poor with the cc of vehicles? And average office clerk may own a second hand proton iswara costing RM7000 ( rebate RM625) while the Datuk's children can own a fleet of 10 new cars all less than 2000cc costing millions and get a rebate of RM625 x 10 - RM6250!

The misleading concept of subsidy
The word "subsidy" has been brandished by the BN govt as if it has so generously helped the rakyat and in doing so incurred losses. This simple example will help explain the fallacy :

Example:
"A" is a fisherman. He sells fish to u at $10 which is below the market price of $15. Let's assume he caught the fish from the abundance of the sea at little or no cost. "A" claims that since the market value of the fish is $15 and he's selling it to u at $10, he has subsidised $5 and therefore made a loss of $5.
Question: Did he really make a profit of $10 or a loss of $5, which he claimed is the subsidy?
Answer: He made a profit of $10 which is the difference between selling price and cost price. There is no subsidy!!!

The BN govt claims that it is a subsidy because the oil is kept and treated as somebody else's property. By right, the oil belongs to all citizens of the country and the govt are the trustee's for the citizens. So as in the above example, the BN govt cannot claim that it has subsidised the citizen!.

ps: awesome comic from... www.philippetastet.com