A Petronas tanker is replenishing the supply of RON95 petrol at a petrol station as thousands of Malaysians queued to fill up their cars to full tank in the wake of the price increase from midnight. - The Malaysian Insider pic by Najjua Zulkefli, October 1, 2014.Malaysians took to social media tonight to express their views on the latest petrol price hike, but with a touch of humour and sarcasm, instead of the outrage that usually follows such a move by the government.
Perhaps cognizant of Putrajaya's ongoing sedition blitz against its critics, users on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were light-hearted in their tweets and posts about the price increase of RON95 petrol and diesel by 20 sen per litre effective from midnight.
Many also posted photographs of inevitably long queues at petrol stations on Twitter and photo sharing site Instagram.
Still, the sting in some tweets was apparent as social media users grappled with the impact of higher fuel prices on their daily lives.
A Twitter user with the handle @FadhliHamim light-heartedly tweeted that he wanted petrol as part of his wedding dowry.
With the hashtag #hambarminyak, he wrote: "Dengan ini saya isytiharkan hantaran kahwin saya 3 botol ron95 dan satu botol ron97" (With this, I declare that my wedding dowry consists of three bottles of RON95 and a bottle of RON97).
Another user with the Twitter handle @dashxzyang posted: "thx god we have such a good government that raise the petrol price every year", while RANDOM who tweets at @MiorHafizLatif thanked the government for the move which he said contributed to a "harmonious and peaceful society".
A Twitter user who calls himself AA110199™ with the Twitter handle @zulhusni_13, in referring to the numerous 1Malaysia products in the market, called on Prime Minister to come up with Petrol 1Malaysia that charges RM1 per litre for fuel.
"Beras 1malaysia, gula 1malaysia, air 1malaysia, kopi 1malaysia.. Bila abam ajib nk buat petrol 1malaysia.. seliter seriggit" (1Malaysia rice, 1Malaysia sugar, 1Malaysia water, 1Malaysia coffee... when is Najib going to come up with 1Malaysia petrol... RM1 a litre).
Shahril with the handle @shahril511 sarcastically wrote, "Selepas harga minyak RON95 naik...harga minyak angin pun akan menyusul naik...permintaan tinggi..harap maklum" (After the increase of RON95 fuel price, the price of ointment will also go up... high demand... please take note).
Amirul Asraf lamented the fuel hike at his account @amirul6129 by saying: "Tragedi October: ron95 naik 20sen".
Twitter user Cappuccino lover who uses the handle @ajisaazeez summed up common fears that the 20 sen per litre increase will result in price hikes for other goods and services. "RON95 naik. Good luck Malaysia. Esok milo ais rm3 sebungkus" (RON95 increase. Good Luck Malaysia. Tomorrow, a packet of ice milo will cost RM3).
The latest fuel hike was announced by the Domestic Trade, Consumer Affairs and Cooperatives Ministry this evening.
The ministry said the move was in line with its subsidy rationalisation plan.
"Despite the increase, the government will still need to spend more than RM21bil on fuel RON95, diesel and LPG subsidies for this year.
"This move is in line with the subsidy rationalisation plan by the government to ensure that the country’s finances remain strong," the ministry said in a statement today.
The ministry also said the move is aimed at preventing fuel smuggling to ensure the current subsidies of the commodity is not abused by irresponsible parties.
The ministry added that people-centric incentives, including increased amounts of the cash handout programme Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) will be given to the needy and lower income group to offset the burden of higher fuel prices.
The last time Putrajaya slashed fuel subsidies was on September 2 last year with a 20 sen reduction in RON95 petrol and diesel subsidies, and a 15-sen subsidy decrease in RON97 petrol two days later, causing outraged Malaysians to form long queues at petrol stations to fill up and take to social media to express their views.
Economists, however, have hailed it as the right move to address the ever-increasing government debt. After last year's fuel hike, Najib said that the new prices would save the government at least RM1.1 billion.
- TMI
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