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Petrol Prices Plan By Government: Protecting the Corruptors – Pt. 2 |
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Posted by admin
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Thursday, 05 June 2008 16:35 |
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by Abdul Rahman Abdul Talib The government has a lot of options other than removing the oil subsidy. But, these options are very painful for the cronies, for the “rent-seekers” in UMNO, for the “4th Floor boys and for the entire UMNO party that rely on sucking the government dry for their own benefit.
Here are a few options that I would like to propose which can be adopted immediately for immediate savings. Note the figures I listed below are all estimations. - Repeal all laws related to infringement of freedom of media i.e. Printing and Presses Act, Police Act etc. With a free and vibrant media, the level of corruption will be seriously reduced in a very short period of time. This will effectively reduce government spending. NET SAVINGS in one YEAR: RM 5 billion minimum.
- Cancel all IPP’s that supply energy to TNB for an inflated rate. Let TNB run all their power plants. After all, the amount of electricity generated by TNB is already exceeding the need of the country. ESTIMATED NET SAVINGS: RM 10 billion.
- Make Petronas report its earnings and losses to Parliament. By doing so, Pertonas’ funds would be more transparent and less prone to abuses by UMNO’s “rent-seekers”, not to mention the multiplying effects to our country’s economy when Petronas funds are properly spent. ESTIMATED NET SAVINGS: RM 10 billion minimum (estimated GDP contribution: RM 10 billion). TOTAL: RM 20 billion.
- Government should encourage a “Work From Home” program for all corporations since this will reduce travelling of employees getting to work. This will reduce usage of petroleum significantly. I estimate at least 20% of normal consumption thus reducing burden of subsidy. ESTIMATED NET SAVINGS: RM 10 billion.
- Make all government projects “open tenders” which will result in further savings to the government for all the projects spent. ESTIMATED NET SAVINGS: RM 15 billion.
- For major corporations (the real major users of oil), the government can charge an “affluent tax” on them for the amount of oil they use. If their usage is more than what they require, the government can tax them, or reduce the subsidy. This is to prevent wastage in use of oil and energy. NET EARNINGS ESTIMATED: RM 5 billion.
Should there be any spending, then it should be spent on: - Spend on alternative energy proposals. Petronas already has an NGV engine. TNB can start exploring wind energy initiatives. Telecom and TM Net can start spending on a better and more reliable broadband infrastructure which will make travelling less of a requirement. ESTIMATED SPENDING: RM 10 billion.
- Improve public transport drastically. All the people I know would opt for a reliable public transport rather than driving. ESTIMATED SPENDING IN A YEAR : RM 10 billion.
Therefore, let’s all do the mathematics: | No | Source | Estimated Savings / RM Billions | | 1 | Reduction in Corruption | 5 | | 2 | Cancelling of IPP | 10 | | 3 | Petronas being more transparent | 20 | | 4 | Encourage work from home and car pooling program | 10 | | 5 | Open tender for government | 15 | | 6 | Affluent Tax | 5 | | 7 | Alternative Energy Initiative | -10 | | 8 | Public transport spending | -10 | | | TOTAL | 45 |
Please bear in mind that RM 11 billion is nothing compared to the revenue Petronas is generating due to the rise in oil prices. It seems that if the government reduces corruption; introduce more transparency; and implement serious programs to reduce oil consumption; and are serious in combating cronyism, nepotism and corruption; tax the real wastrels and polluters, we would not have to reduce the burden of the oil subsidy.
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