Saturday, June 7, 2008

replace air for petrol?

one would think that a serious issue such as fuel price hike would have taken the best brains in the government to look at all angles before announcing their decision. it takes time, careful planning and inputs from various quarters before the decission is implemented.

usually this is not the case in our country. decisions are made more like shooting from the hips. what follows is knee jerk reactions.

having thought that the annual rebates that would be given out to motocyclists and smaller capacity cars would win over the public, the reactions from the rakyat has jolted the powers be. brace yourselves for more goodies to be announced on a daily basis.

what caught my attention was the plans announced by the government as published in saturday's star. the number one plan is cost cutting by government departments and agencies. i do hope that real commitment is shown here.

will the PM now sell off the jets that serve him and other top guns? surely these cost a bomb to fly and maintain? how about the fleet of luxury cars that are leased by the government at high cost?

anyway, those who wish to save on high fuel cost, may want to check out a car that runs on air - yes on air. follow the link here. this would be great for city driving. will the government consider tax exemption for these vehicles to be imported into malaysia? anyway, readers please pay attention to safety issues from commentators.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4217016.html

thank you Bro. Suresh for the heads up.

cheers.


Thursday, June 5, 2008

Day One

to the world of blogsphere - greetings from a first timer.



i have been reading a few well established blogs consistently. my gratitude and thanks

to these bloggers for their inspirational writings that has also prompted me to start my

own.



do i have a detailed plan on what i am going to post? none whatsoever but i have

an inkling that my writings may veer towards political thoughts and observations.

i may also touch on religion a little.



the first day of my blogging coincides with higher petrol prices for malaysians. it

was waiting to happen but the impact is really telling. was the hike in price very

high to cover for last year?



my concern is the way the government is making decisions - i believe the DPM did

say that there will be no price hike till september this year. if you are not sure or

not privy to sensitive information, then do not issue any statement. doing otherwise

just erodes the already battered image and credibility.

i have been anticipating the hike for some time now. i was also looking forward to
some encouragement from the government on the use of NGV as alternative and cheaper
source of fuels for vehicles. unfortunately, this aspect was not given any consideration
other that keeping the current prices. there is only a 25% reduction in the road tax - not
much to encourage conversion.

how about removing taxes or import duties for NGV conversion kits and gas cylinders which
are all being imported right now. more NGV dispensing outlets would also help. i understand
that it costs a considerable amount of money to install NGV dispensing mechanism.

but look at the benefit - cleaner air and the people are not too burdened as NGV price is
still lower and so will the vehicle maintenance cost.

will our 'caring' government look into this very seriously?

ekayjay