Almost Somewhere

This has just been reported in the New Straits Times:

BREAKING NEWS: Petrol will be RM2.70 a litre at midnight tonight
PUTRAJAYA, Wed: The new price of petrol is RM2.70 per litre beginning midnight tonight, it was announced a moment ago by Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Samad. [Read full news]

Man… RM2.70 per liter! That means my RM350 fuel budget just shot up to RM500 a month. I’d take public transport if I can (for environmental concerns, and also for getting nice time to read) but there aren’t any! None! Zilch! At least not where I live… I’d have to walk 3 km to the nearest LRT station for that – through a jungle reserve!

Or I can walk by the roadside for 7km – one-third of the way to my destination already – which would take 1 hour. Then, wait about an hour for enough space to squeeze into the LRT (sweating and all), and take the LRT journey halfway for another 45 minutes. Then, hop into the next LRT after waiting another 30 minutes, and reach the office in another 15 minutes. All in all, that would take 3 and a half hours. Since I need to have breakfast before work, I’d have to arrive by 8am as office starts at 9am. Which means I’d have to start from my house at 4.30am – which is impossible given that it’s so dark (no lights and no police) and full of criminals (illegal immigrants).

3 and a half hours to reach the office and another 3 and a half to reach home. 7 hours on the road. 9 hours in the office. One hour staying late at the office. 17 hours out of the house – leaves me  just 7 hours for dinner, sleep, bathing, etc. etc. Since preparing and eating dinner means 1 and a half hours, and all household chores another 3 hours, I’d  have another 2.5 hours left. However, since I’d need 1 hour to wake up, bath, and be ready for office, I’d have only 1 and a half hours to sleep.

Considering that it’d take half an hour to actually fall asleep and another half an hour to go fully awake… I’d have half an hour to actually sleep. And since it’d take half an hour into actual sleep before the brain really get to sleep… huh… I’d be trying to wake up before I am even fully asleep! And after that 7 hours of travel… that ain’t enough!

Which means that unless the government really consider upgrading the public transport system first – and come up with proper laws on market competition – removing the fuel subsidy will probably produce an insomniac nation of poor people – while the rich, having to face higher costs themselves, will probably not increase our salary anymore and we end up getting poorer.

I’m not poor, you say? Well, define poor. We struggle enough to survive everyday with low income, high inflation, market collusion (yeah… they always get away with it in this country – they are friends with high people anyway), and all those price fixing scandals…

One thing the government should have done first: CUT THE SPENDING ON UNNECESSARY EVENTS! Sure, the national sport is important – but with the current budget, can’t it be canceled? Who needs sports and entertainment when there’s not enough money to eat? I mean, they can pay RM200 for a screwdriver set but can’t cut spending a bit to help the people?

Nice government, we have. Really caring about the people. Cut the subsidies on fuel and let the prices soar on all necessary stuff. Let the businesses colludes, hoard, create artificial shortage, speculate prices, and be rich. Don’t mind coming up with a legal framework first. Don’t bother about the public transport infrastructure first. Don’t bother about the prices or minimum wage yet. Really caring.

Really caring…

Oh… how I wish that there’s another general election next month – not another four years. You’d see who’d be the opposition then – that is if they manage to get even a seat.