Fuel hike is excessive burden to the people. In a press release issued this morning, the former Finance Minister and axed DPM repeated his election promise that petrol and diesel prices can be kept low.
He accused the Government of allowing Petronas' colossal hidden profits to be used for cronies and family members instead of the people.
Anwar was in the Government, so he should know. Read here.
Two night ago, on RTM, I asked the current Finance Minister 2 about the higher revenues the country earns from higher world oil prices. Malaysia earns US$250 million more each time oil price increases by US$1 per barrel.
Nor Mohamed Yakcob said the Government is of the opinion that "keuntungan PETRONAS sepatut di gunakan untuk masa depan negara dan juga anak-anak dan cucu-cucu kita" (Petronas' profits should be saved for Malaysia's future generations).
For the full transcript of interview, click here.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Anwar Ibrahim: It's way too much
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Bro,
ReplyDeleteMinta Anwar Ibrahim menjelaskan mekanisma pengurangan harga minyak beliau. Elok untuk pengetahuan orang ramai.
I'd cut my middle fingers if Anwar compliment the Government. Its a political opppurtunity. There are some points I share with him but seen from a different angle.
ReplyDeleteThe problem as I see it is the manner we handle the problem. Read my Shahir the Market Alarmist
In my post-hike posting, Oil Price Hike: It’s Not The Best of Effort, Pak Lah, I said:
For one, Pak Lah lied. (Should it not be August?)
Secondly, why can’t the people benefit as a net oil exporter? What so sinful about high expenditure? Can’t there be a creative way to not account as subsidy? Don't tell me we can't have cheap oil.
Third, the talk of removing subsidy for development needs does not jive. Who will benefit up-front from these economic corridors? Why must these developments be based on abnormal oil profit? Why must there be these economic corridors, in the first place?
Ashhh gasp ... this is a half past six cabinet after all. The way I see ...
Geez, such incompetence! Can we have a truly qualified Finance Ministers, not Economic Faculty reject and gambler of colossal losses? A Domestic Trade and Consumer Affair Minister that is merely a good talking burung tiung, but turn out to be a disaster when given responsibility.
This is just not about politics, the people need to have confidence in the ability of the leaders to communicate, creatively handle problems and soften the blow on the people....
Dear Rocky, as has been pointed out many times before, all other oil-exporting countries (like Malaysia) are having far cheaper petrol price than Malaysia. Anwar is absolutely right, oil prices can be kept low. Tan Sri Nor talks rubbish, how do we know that Petronas' money is being saved? Only wen they publish Petronas' detailed financial results for the past 20 years will we e convinced. Pak Lah's latest move is beginning of the demise of Malaysia's economy.
ReplyDeleteBrader, kenaikan minyak too much. Dulu full tank kereta saya kena
ReplyDeleteRM120 sekarang RM160. Ini belum harga barang yang PASTI akan naik. Malam tadi RTM interview Mat Taib, Johari Baharom dan beberapa lagi menteri yang kata kenaikan itu diringkan dengan subsidi. Johari kata harga minyak negara paling murah berbanding negara jiran. Rakyat Malaysia yang setuju dengan mereka ni memang HAPRAK. Tak taulah apa nak jadi? Dulu masa harga minyak naik 30 sen, heboh seluruh negara. Kali ni tak taulah apa kesannya kepada rakyat. Anwar pun dah mula buat statement tu, lepas ni macam-macamlah kerajaan kena pertahan. Rakyat bagaimana?
Suriram
can sdr anwar tell us how?
ReplyDeletebru, is it true pak lah's best friend kalimullah underwent bypass recently?
Petronas profits for our "anak cucu"? I think it's more for a certain someone's retirement plan.
ReplyDeleteBro, you're an investigative reporter right? Can you investigate what happened to the coal mine that TNB once bought and made a profit from in Kalimantan during Tun's time? That was a brilliant transaction that if maintained would have made or saved us Billions. I heard it was sold off and because of it, we have to pay higher tariffs to cover the high cost of coal. Non- visionary CEOs of GLCs should be given the sack!
ReplyDeleteFor starters, Petronas revenues are public knowledge. Just log on to petronas.com.my, click the coporate icon, then corpoate backgrounder and then investor relations and look up the 2007 annual report. Petronas recorded its best every performance of EM184 billion in revenue and RM76 billion in profit before tax.
ReplyDeleteI want the PM to explain very clearly to me how this subsidy actually works. Nowhere in the annual report is there any statement of subsidy received or given for fuel whereas for gas it is clearly stated the RM57 billion given by Petronas.
Only 30% of total fuel subsidy is for petrol. It is leakage to neighbouring counrtires and industrial use of subsidized diesel that costs us all. This simply boils down to total lack of enforcement coupled with corruption.
When the price of oil goes up, the counrty benefits, so instead of raising prices, they should be reducing prices.
Petronas only controls 42% of the retail (petrol stations) trade in Malaysia. Why should other petrol companies like Shell and Exxon get rich at our expense.
One option is to open up the market, allow Petronas to sell at a special price due to their higher revenue. All Malaysias will just pour thier petol at Petronas.
B. J. FERNANDEZ
Who's children is it in the future? Yours or mine?
ReplyDeleteIf my son is not getting it today, would his son got it?
Define "future".
Increasing the price of fuel has to go hand in hand with other visible measures like reducing income tax, road tax, toll charges and most importantly drastic action on leakages through wasteful projects and corruption. We need "professional" leaders who knows how to run their respective portfolios and get rid of the deadwood. There is too much deadwood and wastage that is so clear and visible to the leaders. Both BN and PR must get down to work to serve the Rakyat.
ReplyDeletesekarang ni time nak sedut duit rakyat - sebab PRU12 haritu banyak pakai duit, pas tu koridor2 yang gah pada nama tapi haprak kepada perlaksanaanya dah tak cukup duit - malu nanti kalau batal job tu...sedut paklah sedut
ReplyDeleteJANGAN PERCAYA KALAU ADA ORANG KATA KENAIKAN HARGA MINYAK DISEBABKAN KERAJAAN BALAS DENDAM KEPADA RAKYAT KERANA TIDAK MENGUNDI UMNO DAN BN PADA PRU12. TAKKANLAH KERAJAAN BEGITU ZALIM BERBUAT DEMIKIAN.
ReplyDeleteJENAN
God gives the present revenue for current citizens,God gave tin revenue for the past citizens.For the future citizens God has other alternatives.
ReplyDeleteEven a normal simpleton rakyat like me can see the 'Shock & Awe' by Pak Lah is a sneaky and desperate move to squeeze rakyat. The whole country hanged on the decision of these few Elites who made national decisions behind close doors, luxuriously air-conditioned & temperature controlled, of course.
ReplyDeleteWe're asking where is the transperancy and accountability of such moves?
They will compare us with market prices of non-gas producing countries like Singapore & Thailand again.
To the rakyat this 'near non subsidy' with another looming increase at August will be our 'Breaking Point'.
Bro,
You were right about Datuk S.S. he is sneaky and untrustworthy. My bad on thinking he's with the rakyat, he's just one of 'them' now.
Dear Rocky,
ReplyDeleteWhat can be done to rectfiy the situation?
No matter how many blogs, articles, snippets that I read and listen to, I cannot comprehend why we have to pay so much for petrol. My foreign friends usually remark that it is natural for fuel to be cheaper in Malaysia as we are an oil producing country- definitely not a giant but good enough for a small country.
-Atat
Why Anwar? The only time i read about Anwar these days is when he says he's ready to form new govt, become pm and on katak issue.
ReplyDeleteI didnt hear from him personally on BMC, on petrol price hike, issues close to rakyat's heart etc?
wonder if he is only interested in pm post (and revenge on mahathir)?
where is he when the rakyat needed a voice? why is that?
to set records straight, i m very angry at the cronyism and corruption etc in the present govt. shortsighted and corrupt govt - did nothing to ease us into an era of high oil (and food) prices. i didnt hear of any viable research on alternative energy, only concentrate on building tolls, tax car imports to burden rakyat. and now only working on food security.
malaysian
Petronas profits for future generations??? more like for cronies?
ReplyDeleteSaudara Rocky,
ReplyDeleteJANJI memang senang ditabur, nak TUNAIkannya satu hal lain. SEBELUM DAPAT manusia mana pun akan tabur itu dan ini.
Ini masalah harga minyak naik sedunia. Kita jangan mudah terpedaya dan percaya apa apa pun janji manis yang ditaburkan dari sesiapa pun terutama mereka yang ada kepentingan politik tersendiri, ada dendam kesumat disanubari, gila kuasa dan ada agenda tersendiri dan lebih menggerunkan baik pula dengan Amerika.
Kita kena mahasabah diri dan tidak melenting disaat saat begini. Jangan mudah buat sesuatu yang dalam jangka panjang akan merugikan Negara.
Kita patut bimbang jika kita ini semua semakin tua tidak bertambah IMAN atau hilang Iman dan anugerah aqal yang Allah swt kurniakan pada kita tidak kita gunakan untuk kebaikan diri sendiri, orang lain, bangsa, agama dan negaraa, ini yang patut kita semua bimbangi.
Selama ini bila kerajaan bantu orang Melayu dengan DEB ramai orang pertikaikan, termasuk ada segolongan orang Melayu sendiri. Mereka juga label orang Melayu ada mentaliti subsidi.
Tapi bila kerajaan tarik balik subsidi minyak (itu pun ada imbuhan juga), mereka semua melenting.
Jadi kita ni semua sama sahaja, kita semua ada mentaliti subsidi dan yang lebih menarik diantara kita ni semua, yang paling marah dengan kerajaanlah yang paling hendakkan subsidi..Allah swt Selamatkanlah Negaraku.
WaAllahuAllam.
Excessive is rite and I totally agree with RPK in Msia Today that we should be angry with ourselves for allowing Munafiks to be our leaders. Most of us who do have guts to speak out the truth about all the abuse that happens in our environment wether at home at work usually get our guts gutted out at the end of the day.
ReplyDeleteSo the jaga our own perut....all of us still kena screw jugak...for keeping silence when we see injustice and contnuing keeping the silence....
Bukan salah ibu mengandung....
Keturunan Jebat
Ya Anwar...we know already its too much and we know already petronas money been songlaped for decades even when you were in gomen...what we wanna hear are details...all talk no point...give us a concrete plan of action the HOWS.
ReplyDeleteHow PR plans to turn this thing around, how we are going to face the uncertainty facing the world economy, how you are going to restructure subsidies (and to those detractors, so what if we can afford to subsidize our own people...balik2 free-market...free market is what is causing people to starve the world over), how you will revamp the transportation system, how you will reform the agri sector, set minimum wages etc2...talk is cheap...SHOW US THE MONEY LAH.
Is it all on paper or just in your head?
This is what a regular uninformed rakyat like me wants to know.
Yes Anwar. I agree with you this time. The price hike is way too high and you were in the govt before.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure if you become PM, you'll find the best way which is to go to IMF. Not much difference than Dollah style of talking cock.
Now as one of the resident UMNO rabid supporters I would like a favour from you to do this
ReplyDeleteRocky...
Compare what was written about fuel prices from two very different blog.
One from Anwar Ibrahim as you have posed. The other is is from CheDet.com
Hell why don't you compare to what I wrote in mykuli.blogspot.com and what DSAI writes.
It is then you can see,
why DSAI cannot be the PM back in 1998.
Malaysia will be far worse under Anwar.. remember his move to sell malaysia to IMF?? he's just menangguk di air keruh.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure when Anwar becomes Prime Minister he will be able to reduce petrol and diesel prices by at least RM1.50. He has plans. He plans to sale Malaysia's (not Malysian mind you)BACKSIDE to Jews, Americans, Britishs, Australians, gays, bisexual and lesbian. These people are willing to help Anwar and Pakatan Rakyat. Under Anwar and PR we will be rich. By Papillon
ReplyDeleteBru,
ReplyDeleteI got better understanding reading Dr. M blog on oil price. I know that our country is filthy rich (with profit in petrol, rubber, palm oil etc)but unfortunetly we have uneducated leader running the country! Enough said!
taxpayer
I second Zainal A. Kasim's call. If DSAI can do better, by all means enlighten us.
ReplyDeleteSaving our oil windfall in a 'Future Fund' is the way to go, as some Scandinavian countries have wisely done (Australia has such a fund set up as well, and it derives from sales of non-renewable resource).
ReplyDeleteAnwar Ibrahim has a point that the PETRONAS profits could be used to ease the public's fuel consumption burden.
It must be added that although implementing such a alleviative measure could be worthwhile and humane, this measure must be temporary and taper off in the very short-term. In other words, PETRONAS's money should be used only to help the people to gradually adjust to the market price which reflects the reality of true petroleum scarcity. Subsidies are a wasteful distortion that creates a false illusion of abundance. The pain of the real price of fuel will be eventually felt, subsidy or no subsidy. Hence we cannot afford to fritter away hard-earned, one-off windfalls on subsidies that do no good for us in the long run.
The wisest thing for a government to do is to earnestly invest in and encourage research and implementation of renewable energy use (solar and wind being the two most important ones). Solar and wind energy is the least environmentally damaging of the renewables.
The initially overenthusiasm over biofuels (such as palm oil-derived biodisel) has corrected itself because it has been realised that it takes up the very scarce resource of land. Land taken up for biofuels production cannot be used for food production, and expansion of the oil palm acreage is coming increasingly at the expense of natural vegetation. This is a threat to biodiversity, and contributes to global warming. With regard to the claim that biofuels are 'climate neutral', this is a false hope: while it is true carbon released from biodiesel is the carbon taken in by the oil palm, it is often forgotten that a huge amount of carbon is released when forests are destroyed to establish oil palm plantations in the first place, hence leaving us with a carbon 'debt' to pay off (and the damage to the climatic system would have already been done whether we 'pay off' this debt).
These are vital points for our incumbent and future governments to note of.
Zainal Kasim,
ReplyDeleteIf Mahathir or Ku Li (who was involced in the oil production sharing agreement) talk, I would believe. Setakat Anwar .... hampas.
Anwar belajar cuma Malay Studies di UM. Late Ghaffar Baba described as "Sesiapa pun boleh masuk Universiti belajar Malay Studies."
Masuk MCKK cuma belajar Malay Studies, mesti "main" banyak sangat di sekolah.
Mungkin layak masuk cabinet half past six Pak Lah yang fail statistics belajar Islamic Studies.
When Anwar Ibrahim was a Minister, he is famous for these reply:
Kami akan kaji
Kami akan beri bincang
Kami faham ... dan akan memberi perhatian yang sewajarnya
Kerajaan sentiasa me.... dan jika ianya wajar, akan diberi tindakan yang segera.
All just like Pak Lah.
I bet my last dollar, if he is in power, he will fumble in his off the cuff decisions.
Anwar hanya pandai cakap, kerja habuk tak guna.
"Cemerlang, Gemilang, Terbilang" changed to "Hardship, Poverty, Inflation".
ReplyDeleteAt least our PM has already a title to go with him in our Malaysian History which is- "Bapa Kenaikkan Harga Barang"
Consider it as an achievement. All other PMs got their titles after having retired.
Those of you who think the PM is not to be blamed for the rise in fuel costs because it is a worldwide phenomenon, should ask:
ReplyDelete1.Crude oil prices has been rising since early last year.What steps did the govt take? Giving govt servants a pay increase of up to 35% in July last year isn't exactly an anti-inflationary measure!
2.Having different cabinet ministers making different conflicting statements (Najib vs Shahrir) gives a poor impression of governance!
3.The flip-flop policy of announcing a ban on foreigners buying petrol is making the country a laughing stock by our neighbours!
Sure, global prices are up but the way our leaders are handling the issue leaves much to be desired!
ROCKY, UNTUK MENGURANGKAN BEBAN BELANJA, PERTAMA, SEMUA ORANG MESTI BERHENTI BELI SURAT KHABAR YANG SOKONG KERAJAAN SEBAB PUTAR BELIT DAN KEDUA, BERHENTI MEROKOK. KALAU BOLEH BERHENTI DUA BENDA INI, ANDA BOLEH SELAMATKAN KURANG-KURANG RM300 SEBULAN.YANG LAIN MEREKA FIKIRKAN SENDIRI.
ReplyDeleteNAJAT
everyone...plz have a look at chedet.com and corrupted anwar's blog! TDM plz comeback!
ReplyDeleteex-anwaris
DSAI SEEMS TO BE QUITE CAREFUL ON THIS ISSUE JUST BECAUSE HE KNOWS IT'S A TOUGH ONE. IT LACKED FIRE.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if we can start BOYCOTT buying gas from PETRONAS!
ReplyDeleteWhy?
1) With global price increase in oil, PETRONAS definitely is making a lot, lot of money
2) When the price increase announced yesterday, AGAIN they'll earn even more!
3) People will say we don't know shit what PETRONAS is facing right now. Oh, yeah, then why not make the ACCOUNT of PETRONAS public! Let the RAKYAT see what the shit is going on with OUR money!
So, I'll rest my case. I'll start today.
a voice
ReplyDeletemay be we get mahatir back? oops, isnt he the guy who enrich the IPP buggers and toll collectors big time. and his excuse? may be the cabinet wasnt savvy enough then and this resulted in lopsided agreements in favour of the concessionaires. mind you, the people will be suffering from higher tolls and electricity rates even after mahatir is long gone.
let me put it directly. BN is just too corrupt to rule anymore. its not Mahatir or Badawi's fault alone anymore. Its the system and the rakyat must purge the corrupt system by voting out BN. Thats the only way to wake BN up and only then they will go back to their original roots. Anyway, if PR is as bad as the old BN, then we go back to a rejunevated and new BN. its called constructive destruction.
YHY
MAKAN ANGIN KE TUGAS RASMI
ReplyDeleteSaya terbaca dalam sebuah artikel hari ini (2 Jun 200 8) yang rombongan kerajaan Pulau Pinang akan ke Hong Kong dan korea untuk bertujuan menjalin hubungan sedia ada dan yang baru dengan ahli perniagaan dan pihak industri di negara dan wilayah itu. Hai la Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang sorang ni… rombongan delegasi kerajaan Pulau Pinang ni pergi untuk tugas rasmi ke atau nak makan angin. Agak-agakla pun kalau nak makan angin free, sehingga sanggup menggunakan duit rakyat.
bersambung..............di http://pedasberapi.wordpress.com/
You mean to tell me Mr. Minister that in the meantime we - the parents of the anak2 and cucu2 you are talking about - live in poverty is it?
ReplyDeleteOh sorry my mistake, the government has asked us to change our lifestyle.
Fikir, fikir, dan fikir dulu sebelum cakap. Jangan jadi Pak Pandir.
I really pity those people with low income and a big family; how are they going to survive?
ReplyDeletethat's probably the only best thing this Brader could afford to excrete out from his brain in this time of crisis...
ReplyDeleteassh0les think tank?
That 84yrs old man thinking is way beyond any of these idiots-power-lust fu$kers... the Bodolah & the B@81
I do hate gays..
These creature will dig anything from assh0les to satisfy their lust ..WTF
"keuntungan PETRONAS sepatut di gunakan untuk masa depan negara dan juga anak-anak dan cucu-cucu kita" (Petronas' profits should be saved for Malaysia's future generations)
ReplyDeleteCorrect, correct, correct. Although, I do not approve of Nor Yakcop being MOF2, in this case, he right.
We are suffering from a world problem in the prices of all commodities. Wanna blame anyone, then blame the financial institution who thinks they have the right to trade on papers. Haram kata Quran. Now we know why la.
RaZ
Arian
ReplyDeleteThe PM must be joking when he commented on 'Malaysia's oil price is still cheaper than the neighbouring countries like Singapore & Thailand'. Why Singapore & Thailand when they are not oil producing countries?
www.anwaribrahimblog.com/wp-admin
ReplyDeleteIt's natural DSAI commenting about this issue because he is making use of the situation for his own agenda.
ReplyDeleteWe should not be fooled.
Anwar so confident mau jadi PM, so confident he can keep his promises or not? To me, having Anwar as a leader is a very verry verrrry risky choice for all.
ReplyDeleteHe is too smart. (but we people are smarter leh can see through him)
dah berhenti marah pasal kapal singh?
ReplyDeletedah berhenti marah pasal projek ternakan babi di selangor?
dah berhenti marah isu ketuanan melayu?
suDah paham tak siapa yang mempermaikan kita semua dengan isu-isu tu? siapa?
Rasa sakit? menang sakit betul, terutamanya yang “tertipu” sebelum ini…
Nanti RM4 satu lit…lagi sakit…
kepada yang “sudi” dan “suka-rela” ditipu/dibodoh…terima kasih kerana hadiah yang sebesar ini.
Elok jangan panggil dia "pak" lagi, terjejas satu title yang sepatuhnya dihormati.
(apa-nama-dia)
harap, PR especially Anuar dpt perjelaskan bagaimana cara utk mengatasi masalah harga minyak. hanya dgn janji dan cakap tanpa bukti, ianya agak kurang meyakinkan, buktikan keprihatinan terhadap rakyat
ReplyDeleteKepada Pune Deck, jadi? ape yang orang yang engkau "disanjungi" (yang telah bagi "hadiah" besar kpd rakyat) belajar di UM?
ReplyDeletepercakapan anda tu menujukan tiada otak dan mester ahlih....(fikir lar kalau ader otak)
(ccb-aab)
Dear Rocky,
ReplyDeleteIt was only few days ago when the rakyat were distracted into believing that the goverment were doing something to restrict the sale of fuel to foreigners. It was then ban and later un-ban?
Impression were also given to Malaysians that fuel will increase in August '08.
Without warning, news leaks out of the 40% increase in fuel late last evening and created a mad rush to the petrol stations. Coupled with heavy rain & flood in KL / Selangor that causes massive jams. I am sure most will agree that it was one of the worst evening of the decade!
If that was deemed not enought, Pak Lah even rub salt into the wound by announcing the forthcoming 20% increase in electricity tariff?
The rakyat understand of the need for the increament but the delivery & timing was really bad. Wonder if the 'concerned' Ministers have any anticipation, planning and (let alone) remedies in the recent havoc created by the soaring fuel prices? Obviously, the execution 'flipped & flopped' is the trademark!
Ultimately? Rakyat betulx menderita (dan marah la).........
Ah Beng
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteSadly, these days the Malaysian politicians and ministers including DPM and PM does not know the difference between asshole and mouth. Half the time we are not sure which one they are speaking from. Last month we were assured no price increase for petrol, and that was said by none other than the Mongolian bomber, wonder which hole he is speaking from, the bad news is people like Sharir whom we thought had some brains, now we know we are all mistaken, he is no better than all the rest of UMNO idiots.
The money that is made from the taxes are all siphon off to the cronies, and the selected few umnoputera that is what everyone is so upset, if it goes to the benefit of the citizens, surely not that many people will be so disgusted with Bodowi. He has proven Mahatir right, he is more stupid that we thought he is.
Digusted Citizen
Don't think anyone can do much. It's given, subsidy is a bad thing and we should deal away with it but 41% increase is a bit steep to take especially since oil price on decreasing trend the last few days.
ReplyDeleteBtw, Petronas or Shell or Esso "sell" their petrol/petroleum products/gas to Government at market price. When the prices are capped by G'ment, they are paying the difference back to these oil companies.
Khairul Johar Ahmad
Apa nak buat? Dah cerita dia macam tu! Lantaklah! Kita semua rakyat tanggung ajelah!Dah malas nak menyalak! Tak ada hasil! Macam anjing menyalak bukit! Hoi, menteri2 dan perdana menteri, kenyangkan lah perut korang sampai 7 keturunan. Samapah!! Baru2 ni aku undi BN, MENYESAL!
ReplyDeleteAnwar cakap je banyak. Lain kali kalau dah terer sangat bgtau je apa plan dia.Jangan komen dan kritik je pandai. Maklumlah orang memang pandai cakap. La ni yang tersepit rakyat biasa.Dia pun bukan ada problem nak bayar harga minyak.
ReplyDeleteKalau dia sayang dan prihatin sangat kepada rakyat, dia tak perlu kritik. Lagi bagus kalau dia bangkit dan bersemuka dengan AAB dan BN dan bagi idea bernas dia tu macam mana nak selesaikan krisis ni. BARULAH BOLEH JADI HERO MALAYSIA!!!
FM2 said " keuntungan Petronas untuk kegunaan anak - anak cucu kita"....patut la harga minyak naik, untuk cucu depa!
ReplyDeleteSiti Hana
Dear Rocky,
ReplyDeleteNow let all us learn from the GLOBAL MACRO picture....
That is why Malaysia Boleh beat the great Financial Tsunami with its Political Harakiri.
Subject: RE: The Great Oil Swindle
Meanwhile the Arabs are laughing their way to the banks in their Diamond Studded Mercedes Benzes, Dubai is building is umpteenth luxury Hotel, and WE have to use bicycles to the market, and eat leftovers from McDonald’s……….
Read also the Letter in the Star today, one of the rare smart readers said in his letter Speculators to blame for huge rise in prices
and I quote….” ….We should stop this madness before more damage is done.
The flow of French wine and caviar must stop among the speculators, the hedge fund operators and their high net worth clients.
And should they get into trouble again, the national governments worldwide must let them die a lingering death. No more bailing out; no more too big to fail……”
The Great Oil Swindle
How much did the Fed really know?
By Mike Whitney
30/05/08 “ICH” — - The Commodity Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC) is investigating trading in oil futures to determine whether the surge in prices to record levels is the result of manipulation or fraud. They might want to take a look at wheat, rice and corn futures while they’re at it. The whole thing is a hoax cooked up by the investment banks and hedge funds who are trying to dig their way out of the trillion dollar mortgage-backed securities (MBS) mess that they created by turning garbage loans into securities. That scam blew up in their face last August and left them scrounging for handouts from the Federal Reserve. Now the billions of dollars they’re getting from the Fed is being diverted into commodities which is destabilizing the world economy; driving gas prices to the moon and triggering food riots across the planet.
For months we’ve been told that the soaring price of oil has been the result of Peak Oil, fighting in Iraq, attacks on oil facilities in Nigeria, labor problems in Norway, and (the all-time favorite)growth in China. It’s all baloney. Just like Goldman Sachs prediction of $200 per barrel oil is baloney. If oil is about to skyrocket then why has G-Sax kept a neutral rating on some of its oil holdings like Exxon Mobile? Could it be that they know that oil is just another mega-inflated equity bubble—like housing, corporate bonds and dot.com stocks—that is about to crash to earth as soon as the big players grab a parachute?
There are three things that are driving up the price of oil: the falling dollar, speculation and buying on margin.
The dollar is tanking because of the Federal Reserve’s low interest monetary policies have kept interest rates below the rate of inflation for most of the last decade. Add that to the $700 billion current account deficit and a National Debt that has increased from $5.8 trillion when Bush first took office to over $9 trillion today and it’s a wonder the dollar hasn’t gone “Poof” already.
According to a January 4 editorial in the Wall Street Journal: “If the dollar had remained ‘as good as gold’ since 2001, oil today would be selling at about $30 per barrel, not $99. (today $126 per barrel) The decline of the dollar against gold and oil suggests a US monetary that is supplying too many dollars.” Wall Street Journal 1-4-08
The price of oil has more than quadrupled since 2001, from roughly $30 per barrel to $126, WITHOUT ANY DISRUPTIONS TO SUPPLY. There’s no shortage; it’s just gibberish.
As far as “buying on margin” consider this summary from author William Engdahl:
“A conservative calculation is that at least 60% of today’s $128 per barrel price of crude oil comes from unregulated futures speculation by hedge funds, banks and financial groups using the London ICE Futures and New York NYMEX futures exchanges and uncontrolled inter-bank or Over-The-Counter trading to avoid scrutiny. US margin rules of the government’s Commodity Futures Trading Commission allow speculators to buy a crude oil futures contract on the Nymex, by having to pay only 6% of the value of the contract. At today’s price of $128 per barrel, that means a futures trader only has to put up about $8 for every barrel. He borrows the other $120. This extreme “leverage” of 16 to 1 helps drive prices to wildly unrealistic levels and offset bank losses in sub-prime and other disasters at the expense of the overall population.”
So the investment banks and their trading partners at the hedge funds can game the system for a mere 8 bucks per barrel or 16 to 1 leverage. Not bad, eh?
Is it possible that gambling on oil futures might be a temptation for banks that are already underwater from a trillion dollars worth of mortgage-related deals that have “gone south” leaving the banking system essentially bankrupt?
And if the banks and hedgies are not playing this game, then where is the money coming from? I have compiled charts and graphs that show that nearly two-thirds of the big investment banks’ revenue came from the securitization of commercial and residential real estate loans. That market is frozen. Besides, this is not just a matter of “loan delinquencies” or MBS that have to be written off. The banks are “revenue starved”. How are they filling the coffers? They’re either neck-deep in interest rate swaps, derivatives trading, or gaming the futures market. Which is it?
Of course, there is one other possibility, but if that possibility turned out to be right than it would cast doubt on the legitimacy of the entire financial system. In fact, it would prove that the system is being rigged from the top-down by our friends at the Banking Politburo, the Federal Reserve. Here goes:
What if the investment banks are trading their worthless MBS and CDOs at the Fed’s auction facilities and using the money ($400 billion) to drive up the price of raw materials like rice, corn, wheat, and oil?
Could it be? Could the Fed really be looking the other way so it can bail out its banking buddies while they drive prices skyward?
If it is true; (and I suspect it is) it hasn’t done much good. As the Associated Press reported yesterday:
“The Federal Reserve announced Thursday that it will make a fresh batch of short-term cash loans available to squeezed banks as part of an ongoing effort to ease stressed credit markets. The Fed said it will conduct three auctions in June, with each one making $75 billion available in short-term cash loans. Banks can bid for a slice of the available funds. It would mark the latest round in a program that the Fed launched in December to help banks overcome credit problems so they will keep lending to customers.”
Another $225 billion for the bankers and not a dime for the struggling homeowner! The Fed is bankrupting the country with their permanent rotating loans to keep reckless speculators from going under. So much for moral hazard.
As far as speculation, there is ample evidence that the system is being manipulated. According to MarketWatch:
“Speculative activity in commodity markets has grown “enormously” over the past several years, the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee said in a news release. It pointed out that in five years, from 2003 to 2008, investment in the index funds tied to commodities has grown by 20-fold — to $260 billion from $13 billion.”
And here’s a revealing clip from the testimony of Michael W. Masters of Masters Capital Management, LLC, who addressed the issue of “Commodities Speculation” before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs this week:
“Today, Index Speculators are pouring billions of dollars into the commodities futures
markets, speculating that commodity prices will increase. …In the popular press the explanation given most often for rising oil prices is the increased demand for oil from China. According to the DOE, annual Chinese demand for petroleum has increased over the last five years from 1.88 billion barrels to 2.8 billion barrels, an increase of 920 million barrels.8 Over the same five-year period, Index Speculators’ demand for petroleum futures has increased by 848 million barrels. THE INCREASE IN DEMAND FROM INDEX SPECULATORS IS ALMOST EQUAL TO THE INCREASE IN DEMAND FROM CHINA.
Index Speculators have now stockpiled, via the futures market, the equivalent of 1.1 billion barrels of petroleum, effectively adding eight times as much oil to their own stockpile as the United States has added to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve over the last five years.
Today, in many commodities futures markets, they are the single largest force.15 The huge growth in their demand has gone virtually undetected by classically-trained economists who almost never analyze demand in futures markets.
As money pours into the markets, two things happen concurrently: the markets expand and prices rise. One particularly troubling aspect of Index Speculator demand is that it actually increases the more prices increase. This explains the accelerating rate at which commodity futures prices (and actual commodity prices) are increasing. The CFTC has taken deliberate steps to allow CERTAIN SPECULATORS VIRTUALLY UNLIMITED ACCESS TO THE COMMODITIES FUTURES MARKETS. The CFTC has granted Wall Street banks an exemption from speculative position limits when these banks hedge over-the-counter swaps transactions. This has effectively opened a loophole for unlimited speculation. When Index Speculators enter into commodity index swaps, which 85-90% of them do, they face no speculative position limits…. The result is a gross distortion in data that effectively hides the full impact of Index Speculation.” (Thanks to Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis; the one “indispensable” financial blog on the Internet)
Masters adds that the CFTC is pressing to make “Index Speculators exempt from all position limits” so they can make “unlimited” bets on the futures which are wreaking havoc on the global economy and pushing millions towards starvation. Of course, these things pale in comparison to the higher priority of fatting the bottom line of the parasitic investor class.
Brimming oil tankers are presently sitting off the coasts of Iran and Louisiana. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve has been filled. Demand is flat. The world’s biggest consumer of energy (guess who?) is cutting back . As CNN reports:
“At a time when gas prices are at an all-time high, Americans have curtailed their driving at a historic rate. The Department of Transportation said figures from March show the steepest decrease in driving ever recorded. Compared with March a year earlier, Americans drove an estimated 4.3 percent less — that’s 11 billion fewer miles, the DOT’s Federal Highway Administration said Monday, calling it “the sharpest yearly drop for any month in FHWA history.” (CNN)
The great oil crunch is another fabricated crisis; another “smoke and mirrors” fiasco; another Enron-type shell-game engineered by banksters and hedge fund managers. Once again, the bloody footprints can be traced right back to the front door of the Federal Reserve. Don’t expect help from the regulators either; they’ve all been replaced with business reps like Harvey Pitt or Hank Paulson. The only time anyone in the Bush administration finds their conscience is when they’re offered a multi-million dollar “tell all” book deal.
Can you hear me, Scotty?
Did Dr Wan Azizah really claim that petrol in Venezuela only costs 16 sen a litre, as reported on the Malaysiakini website?
ReplyDeleteOf course, this is the socialist paradise of Venezuela ruled by the maverick Hugo Chavez.
Is Wan Azizah advocating that Malaysia makes common cause with the likes of Venezuela? Or Cuba or Iran, for that matter?
Wan Azizah, as a trained professional, should at least be familiar with the basics of economics. Including an understanding of what subsidies are all about.
Is she suggesting that Malaysia should abandon capitalist free-market principles and adopt a dirigiste command-style socialist economy?
If that is her viewpoint, then I can ask her just how such a Malaysian economy can attract the foreign investment required to create the thousands of new (and well-paying) jobs that young Malaysians are going to need?
If the leader of the Opposition is going to demonstrate such economic naivete, then I shudder to think what would happen if they manage to form the next Federal govt?
Or perhaps DSAI's neo-con friends in the US can give her a crash course in economics and the free market!
I just wondering why other net exporters of oil such as Venezuela, Iran, Kuwait, etc can keep their fuel price so cheap? In term of population they many times over than Malaysia. Malaysia with many more naturals resources as compared to these countries cannot keep fuel price down?. Why?. Some comments in this blogs make me laugh as if they are smarter than Anwar. What a bull! Hey, look at yourself.
ReplyDeleteFor the future generation and "cucu"??? Right, the 51% voted BN government who don't give a shit to popular concerns and aspirations of the 49%. Increasing widening communication gap between BN and the people (including the 51%)will spell the political demise of the BN government. And by the way, future children and grandchildren?? Whose? The elites that jet set, staying in big mansions and drive luxury cars??
ReplyDeleteHarakiri BN
Zainal a. kasim, pada pendapat saya. Saudara Anwar tak perlu buat penjelasan pasal mekanisma yang beliau cadangkan. Kenapa? Senang aje. Lepas penjelasan beliau, orang tingkat 4 akan terus menciplak idea tu dan bubuh nama prof kangkung untuk dapat kredit idea tu. Biasa UMNO, BN ciplak menciplak, rasuah merasuah adelah sebahagian dari hidup mereka dan rakyat yang makin jadi susah.
ReplyDeleteRoti kosong.
We Malaysian is stupid enough to put our trust in UMNO,MIC.MCA, for far too long to the extent that they ruined the country. Hopefully after this we can be more careful in selecting our leader.
ReplyDeletefed up
The Perfect combination!
ReplyDeleteDatuk Sri Anwar Ibrahim & Tun Dr Mahatir
With the recent General election results which the ruling party, BN ,lead by Badawi, failing miserably, the country on the whole is heading towards racial, social and economy turnmoil. The Chinese, Indians, Malays and smaller ethnic race are divided. To add to all these woes, leaders of the ruling party representing the rakyat are squabbling among themselves. The end results to these problems would leave the rakyat as victims, and this would eventually cause racial tension among the once peaceful and harmonious atmosphere which we as rakyat has benefited and enjoyed for decades. I am no politician nor expert to judge others, but even as a layman its obvious that the rakyat on the whole is experiencing the worst crisis since independance. Honestly, the ruling government has failed with the responsibilities entrusted to them by the rakyat. I wish to see that leaders putting their differences aside for the sake of the rakyat and nation. And the best combination to lead this country would be no other than Tun Dr Mahathsir and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim themselves. Tun with his excellent leadership and management economically and DSAI with his charisma and strong relationship overseas, which i believe would bring foreign investors back to the country. Let's practice what we preach, so dearest Tun and DSAI put your differences aside, lets not be selfish and greed blind you from saving and putting this nation back from where it was or maybe even greater in the world. And i believe that some of you will not agree to my opinion, but lets be realistic, its better trying than just waiting for the right leader to emerge, by then it will too late. TDM and DSAI in away can also repent for their mistakes or wrong doing in the past if any.
Iskandar Vincent
Anwar Ibrahim talking about the economy and oil prices. He must be thinking about his Foundation for (His)Future with his brother Wolfowitz...remember 1997/1998 as DPM and Finance Minister, Anwar came back from a visit to IMF in Washington DC and immediately increase interest rates on advise of IMF, imagine car interest rate @ 11% flat pa and capping maximum financing amount at 70% of car price...at time of economic turmoil. Disagreeing with Tun Mahathir on pegging the Ringgit at 3.80... I would probably believed he would reduced oil price by 30sen as promised during PRU12, but only for a day, and by the next day increase it to RM4 equivalent to US oil price. Anwar need to explain his decision as DPM/MF before talking about oil prices. Could anyone dispute me regarding the Anwar's IMF interest rate which caused so much hardship to Malaysians? Anyone for His Future Foundation?
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Anwar Ibrahim and Abdullah Badawi are from Butterworth and they are COUSINS...i mean not SINS or SENS, but SEPUPU. Thats how he got the name Pakatan Rakyat Sepupu SeKarpal. Just like Shahril UMNO and his PAS brother (MP in Selangor) are BROTHERS. So AI & AB serupa bikin lo...Interest NAIK Minyak NAIK, sama2 NAIK and sama2 TURUN nanti
ReplyDeleteRead this if you want to know what I think investing in the future means
ReplyDeletehttp://marahku.blogspot.com/2008/06/what-i-think-investing-in-future-means.html
Semua komen dalam blog ini semua in mengenai Anwar, Anwar, Anwar. Cakap macam dia sudah masuk Parlimen jadi PM dan control duit Petronas.
ReplyDeleteinstead of asking anwar for his plans to improve the situation of the rakyat with the fuel increase, why not ask the gomen of the day what plans they have for the future not to burden the rakyat. the gomen of the day are in control not anwar, anwar, anwar.
direct your focus-lah on the right channel that can realise some positive change. commenting on anwar, anwar, anwar boleh bantu-kah?? comment pasai cerita lama boleh bantu-kah macam interest rate, IMF?
Pressure-lah orang yang ada kedudukan di gomen yang boleh bantu.
ag
anwar pon perlu ambil bahagian juga. sebab dia yang berjanji untuk menurunkan segala2nya. jadi kita minta laa dia sumbang kan cadangan ke apa2 ke yang dia lihat boleh selesaikan semua ni. xkan setakat cakap je. kena laa tunjuk juga dia betol2 ambil berat pasal rakyat. nanti kita sama2 juga senang. itulah sebabnya
ReplyDeleteencik anon roti kosong, jangan cakap kosong je. apa salahnya anwar bentangkan mekanisma tu. bentangkan dikhalayak lagi baik. xkan pandai berdemo berkumpul mengutuk dan menjatuhkan kerajaan je. ajak kumpul sama2, bentangkan. itu pon kalau benda tu betol boleh buat la. kalau dah bentang dekat orang ramai nanti, semua dah faham, kalau kerajaan guna pakai pon, semua orang tahu itu anwar punya idea. kalau kerajaan claim benda tu diorg punya memang x tahu malu lah tu. bentang dulu, kita tengok macam mana, kalau setakat main cakap boleh turunkan harga minyak senang2 je baik x payah. semua orang boleh cakap. x payah lah amalkan mentaliti yang judgemental tu, kata UMNO,BN ciplak. x try pon lagi. bila benda2 macam ni dipersoalkan, mula lah macam2 alasan keluar, takut itu lah, takut inilah, dalam masa yang sama asik mempersoalkan, mencari kekurangan kerajaan. sampai bile nak maju orang malaysia? x konstruktif langsung segala tindakan. dengan air liur sahaja x cukup untuk membangun, action speaks louder than word. buktikan dulu, kata prihatin dekat nasib rakyat, at least dari sekarang tunjuk, bukan asik tunjuk pekung orang je. tindakannya xde. macam mana dengan nasib pengundi2 yang telah mengundi beliau? xkan dah menang, dah dapat undi baru nk buat (itu pon kalu boleh buat la). xkan segala janji2 dan cakap tu hanya untuk meraih sokongan je. kamon anwar, u can do it. bantu rakyat ni, tunjukkan keikhlasan perjuangan anda. kita semua akan senang nanti.
ReplyDeletecan anybody clarify about the US250 mill that the country make for every one US dollar hike in crude oil? Is it per day, per month or per year?
ReplyDeleteSalleh Arshad
we produce 650,000 bpd of crude, consume 400,00 bpd. the high crude we produce is sold and we buy back lower grade crude at approx USD10/barrel less.
ReplyDeleteevery USD1 increase will result in add profit of USD2.5M per day.
which also means that the actual value of subsidy has really not changed from day 1 (excluding increase of local consumption). It is loss of potential income.
increasing prices at the pump increases the revenue to the govt. this is on top of the additonal profits generated from USD130/barrel - USD30/barrel (est production cost) i.e. USD100 X 250,000 per day
willy
Pak Lah did not think what will happen to low income Rakyat will survive with the increasing of oil...he did not understand the suffering of the Rakyat...PAK LAH AND BN , 2 WORDS FOR YOU > STEP DOWN AND GO AWAY ! TRY TO BE A POOR PERSON TO UNDERSTAND OUR SUFFERING !
ReplyDeleteFrom : Anti Pak Lah
hey willy,
ReplyDeletewht u said md sense. amazing silap mata ... this subsidy thingy! all those cerdik pandai esp economists pliz present yr take on the issue. let's see what can be done to alleviate rakyat's suffering.
we've heard enuff from politicians already. opposition so clever to promise cuts aplenty (how? only they seem to know, we're suppose to take it on faith alone) while govt will not budge from their "tak boleh" position.
it's now yr duty, economists and other cerdik pandai to offer us rakyat some "food for thought".
if its up to me, rakyat biasa, i'd say stop sponsoring that F1 motor team thingy. its bloody excpensive; money which is better channeled to the "future fund", educating more deserving malaysian students, research and development etc.
petronas excuse of using that platform for "branding" is so lame. it is a global player by virtue of its exploration and production (e & p) efforts and as a producer/seller of sweet crudes and gas.
it's not even that successful selling motor lubricants in the domestic market. so, what for sponsor this expensive motor sport?
explore other ways of positioning yrself, no need to tiru bulat-bulat other oil majors. after all u are a National corporation to begin with, answerable to the rakyat. the oil and gas is "entrusted" only.
so what if u pull the plug on the sponsorship? u become less credible? industry players won't play ball with u? pleez!
and the orchestra is such an indulgent thing. the rakyat is supposed to change their lifestyle (to a more spartan one) while petronas continues to sustain this indulgent undertaking?
all these years, how many ordinary rakyat actually get to watch their performances. free concerts during national day also i never heard they give. while the hoi pollois can hardly put food on the table, the orchestra continues to entertain the elite. mana boleh!
petronas also need to change the way it spends its (huge amount)money. just lk the rakyat needs to change their lifestyle.
menyampah