Wednesday, July 6, 2005

Rant: Oil prices increase, so what?

This is another rant. Sorry if I am a little too simple in the straight forwardness of my 'message'. This may offend car owners (or at least owners of big cars).

Stop complaining about high oil prices. Sikit sikit naik pun mau komplain. Malaysia drivers still enjoy pretty damn low cost petrol when compared to other countries. Instead - swallow it and pay it. The world's crude oil supply isn't getting any higher what with stronger demand.

Use the public transport. Don't use your car to drive 200 yards just to get a loaf of bread. Walk. Jog. Cycle. Use public buses. Use a skate board. Rollerblade to work. Car pool. Get a VW Lupo. Get a Smart ForTwo. Get a Toyota Prius. You don't need a big arse 4x4 (SUV) just to drive alone in an urban city.

Kuala Lumpur already has a system of light trains in place, however shit or ill-thought out they are - they are still useful. My stance is very clear: the Malaysian government should abolish fuel subsidies and instead introduce fuel duty. This can be counteract through lowering car import taxes and/or road taxes.

The fact of the matter is what I am witnessing in Malaysia's culture is the total dependency on automobiles. Harga petrol naik tapi gaji tak naik. Naik naik sahaja, apalah kerajaan ini, mau curi kita punya duit. Oi, harga naik esok lah, jom pergi kat steysen isi cepat! I wouldn't be surprised if Malaysia goes the same way as the US in invading some country (technically impossible, but then again our government loves to dream) in order to preserve their way of life.

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