Update On Petrol Subsidy, 1MDB Payments etc

 

I received some feedback about the government's petrol subsidies from a reader (thank you) which I would like to share.

Ref your article today on price of petrol in Singapore, high prices due to taxes imposed. Its not the actual market value.  Real market cost of petrol is about that of Ron 97 sold locally.

For S---l V-p---r, it is higher as its actually LNG converted into pure petrol with no impurities. 

So actual fuel subsidy (in Malaysia) is RM2 plus per litre as RON 97 now breaching RM5 per litre.

Thailand, Philipines do not have fuel subsidy and hence maybe why their currencies have appreciated against Ringgit.

Indonesia still have some form of fuel subsidy but phasing it out gradually.

Our Ringgit will keep depreciating until we get rid of fuel subsidy which could cost the govt between RM30-40b or more this year alone. More than losses of 1MDB which was over a longer period.

Some currency traders are looking at Malaysia defaulting by 2026.

My comments : I checked some petrol prices in other countries. 

Thailand US1.44  / RM 6.30 per liter
Phillipines US1.26 / RM 5.52 per liter
Japan US1.48 / RM6.48 per liter

Indeed the Singapore prices are higher because of their higher petrol taxes. 

But still comparing our petrol prices with Thailand, Philippines and Japan the difference is still  between RM3.47 to RM4.43. That is also the range of the subsidy that the Government here is paying.

How  much exactly is the total amount of the fuel subsidy the Government will have to pay this year? Will it be around the RM30-40 billion suggested by the commenter above or more? I also received the following info from someone a few days ago:

"3 weeks ago, we the rakyat paid RM7.5bil to settle for one of the 1MDB bonds. Next RM7.5b due in Oct this year. In comparison, we budgeted about RM5b to build hospitals etc for year 2022 (development expenditure for health sector)."

My comments : So for this year alone servicing the 1MDB debt will cost RM15 billion.  The fuel subsidy is going to be sky high this year. They will total in the tens of billions of Ringgit.

It will be interesting to see what is the governments tax collection this year. And the governments overall revenue.

It is not going to be easy. All over the world even seasoned finance ministers are having trouble managing the revenues and expenditures.

We may not be able to hold our breath.

GST mungkin kembali untuk tambah pendapatan negara, kata PM

 

Perdana Menteri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, berkata sistem percukaian tersebut dilihat mampu membantu kerajaan menampung pemberian subsidi bagi keperluan rakyat. (Gambar Bernama)

PETALING JAYA: Cukai barang dan perkhidmatan (GST) mungkin akan dikembalikan, kata Perdana Menteri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

Katanya, langkah itu merupakan satu cara efektif menambah pendapatan negara bagi menangani kenaikan inflasi dan kos sara hidup rakyat.

Ismail menerusi wawancara khas bersama Nikkei Asia, di Tokyo, baru-baru ini, dilaporkan sebagai berkata, GST dilihat mampu mengembangkan pendapatan asas negara.

Selain itu, katanya lagi, sistem percukaian tersebut dilihat mampu membantu kerajaan menampung pemberian subsidi bagi keperluan rakyat.

“Kita telah kehilangan RM20 bilion pendapatan tahunan apabila kita memansuhkan GST dan mengembalikan sistem cukai jualan dan perkhidmatan (SST). Tiada negara dalam dunia ini yang kembali dari GST kepada SST, melainkan Malaysia,” katanya.

Ismail dilaporkan sebagai berkata, beliau sedar tentang persepsi negatif mengenai GST, tetapi kerajaan sudah tidak mempunyai banyak pilihan ketika ini.

Beliau berkata, dalam usaha mengembalikan GST, kerajaan akan mencari jalan untuk mendidik dan menimbulkan kesedaran tentang sudut positif GST serta sistem pengutipan cukai yang lebih telus.

Katanya lagi, kerajaan juga akan memastikan kadar GST yang akan diperkenalkan semula, tidak terlalu tinggi sehingga membebankan rakyat.

Selain itu, Ismail berkata, kerajaan ketika ini juga sedang mengusahakan program rasionalisasi subsidi dengan bagi membantu isi rumah berpendapatan rendah dan menengah.

“Sebuah pelan komprehensif akan dibawa ke mesyuarat Kabinet tidak lama lagi,” katanya. - FMT

Chin Tong slams Wee over public transport policies

 

Johor DAP chief Liew Chin Tong said a failed public transport system had resulted in Malaysia becoming the eighth most dangerous country to drive in.

PETALING JAYA: Johor DAP chief Liew Chin Tong has lambasted transport minister Wee Ka Siong for his poor policy-making in alleviating traffic congestion in the country.

He was commenting on two statements made by Wee, firstly, that there were too many vehicles on the road and that the government was considering increasing fares for public transport.

“These are good reasons for me to doubt his policy-making thought processes,” he said on Facebook.

Liew said the government should heavily fund and subsidise different modes of public transport, especially buses, so that Malaysians would choose to use them over their own cars and motorcycles.

“More bus service routes and more buses should be provided, not just to connect the rail systems in the Klang Valley but also to be the major mode of transport in various cities and towns across the country,” he said.

Liew also highlighted seven challenges faced by Malaysia’s public transport system, including inadequate coverage, low reliability and poor connectivity which led to its underutilisation.

He also said the rail system comprising the LRT, MRT and monorail was mainly concentrated in the Klang Valley.

Liew said a failed public transport system had led to Malaysia becoming the eighth most dangerous country to drive in, and the government having to fork out a larger amount for fuel subsidy to combat surges in global fuel prices.

“Under Budget 2022, RM30 billion was originally allocated for total subsidies. It has now ballooned to nearly RM71 billion, with subsidies for fuel alone costing up to RM30 billion,” said Liew. - FMT

Cabinet, not PM, decides on dissolution of Parliament, claims Tajuddin

 

The Pasir Salak MP says only the Cabinet can dissolve Parliament.

PETALING JAYA: Pasir Salak MP Tajuddin Abdul Rahman says it is up to the Cabinet to decide when Parliament can be dissolved.

“Only the Cabinet can dissolve Parliament, not the prime minister,” he said at an event here today.

“If the Cabinet cannot decide for whatever reason – maybe they think it’s good for the country, good to focus on the people’s welfare – what can we do? That’s the Cabinet’s (decision).”

The country’s ambassador to Indonesia was commenting on claims that there are factions in Umno pushing for an early general election and those who are against it.

Tajuddin said that ultimately, it was the party’s decision that had to be followed.

“The prime minister is a party man and has said he will follow what the party decides. But a party’s decision is one thing, a government’s (decision) is another.”

“Sometimes, there is a clash between his role as the head of government and as a party leader.

“How is he going to tackle that? So he has to think about what is best.”

The next general election (GE15) must be held the latest by mid-September 2023, that is, within 60 days after the current Parliament’s term automatically dissolves on July 16 next year.

Only the prime minister can advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the dissolution of Parliament to pave the way for fresh elections.

Ismail is one of the three Umno vice-presidents and is also the party’s prime minister candidate for GE15.

- FMT

Cops arrest footballer accused of raping teenager

 

Cops arrested the 28-year-old suspect at Jalan Pantai Cahaya Bulan, Kota Bharu, on Sunday night.

KOTA BHARU: Police have arrested a local league footballer to assist in the investigation into the rape of a teenage girl here on May 29.

Kelantan acting police chief Muhamad Zaki Harun said the arrest of the 28-year-old suspect was made at Jalan Pantai Cahaya Bulan (PCB) here on Sunday night, after the 18-year-old victim lodged a report.

“The victim said she was alone at home at about 12.30pm. She was taking the rubbish out when the suspect, whom she knows, shoved and dragged her into a room.

“The victim screamed and tried to fight him off,” he said after launching an event at PCB Resort here today.

Muhamad Zaki said the suspect was being remanded for four days from yesterday and the case would be investigated under Section 376 of the Penal Code. - FMT

Petronas records profit after tax of RM23.4bil in Q1

 

Despite its favourable first-quarter performance, Petronas said ‘high oil and gas prices are expected to remain vulnerable’ with increased volatility due to geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties.

KUALA LUMPUR: Petronas’ profit after tax increased to RM23.44 billion for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022 (Q1 FY2022) versus RM9.22 billion a year ago in tandem with higher revenue, following an upward trend in prices partially offset by higher product costs and taxation.

Revenue stood at RM78.75 billion against RM52.55 billion a year ago, predominantly due to the price impact on major products in line with higher benchmark prices, the group said in a statement today.

“Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation stood at RM39.55 billion, mainly attributable to higher revenue partially offset by an increase in product costs.

“Cash flows from operating activities stood at RM27.88 billion in line with higher cash from operations (Q1 FY2021: RM14.29 billion).

“Overall capital investments (capex) stood at RM7.4 billion (Q1 FY2021: RM6.64 billion) whereby domestic capex increased by close to 30%.

“Upstream remains a major contributor in overall capex spending.

“Total assets increased to RM652.3 billion as at March 31, 2022 as compared to RM635 billion as at Dec 31, 2021, mainly contributed by higher cash and fund investments,” it said.

Petronas president and group CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz said while the national oil company’s Q1 FY2022 performance has “greatly benefited from an elevated price environment, it also clearly demonstrates the disciplined delivery of its core and growth strategy”.

“The group leveraged the strength of its integrated portfolio to provide energy that is secure and sustainable for Malaysia and our customers across the globe,” he said.

Despite a degree of recovery and growth expected with the reopening of economies, Taufik said Petronas will continue exercising prudent financial management with “a firm focus on reinvesting”, given its cautious outlook amid volatile geopolitical conditions and accelerated energy transition.

Petronas will continue to nurture a robust oil and gas services and equipment ecosystem to strengthen its resilience in responding to these challenges and effectively contribute to Malaysia’s economic growth.

“As we continue to deliver progress in our three-pronged growth strategy and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, we are determined to do so as a progressive energy and solutions partner for our stakeholders, both at home and wherever we operate,” he said.

Despite its favourable first-quarter performance, Petronas said “high oil and gas prices are expected to remain vulnerable” with increased volatility due to geopolitical and macro-economic uncertainties.

“Petronas will continue to strengthen our operational excellence to maximise value creation while intensifying our growth and sustainability agenda in Malaysia and internationally,” the statement said. - FMT

Kalimullah Hassan Was Worse Than Satan When Pak Lah Was PM

 

Bersih sangat ke Kalimullah Hassan ni? He condemns the whole country and all the AG’s before and after Tommy Thomas, when in truth Mohtar Abdullah, Gani Patail and Tommy Thomas are all birds of a feather. And the corruption under Kalimullah’s watch was so bad that Pak Lah had to resign as PM and hand power to Najib Razak to avoid joining Anwar in jail.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Kalimullah Hassan cakap apa ni? Tak habis-habis tok kok (SEE BELOW). He thinks he is Alice in Wonderland or what? Mana ada dalam dunia negara macam Shangri-la, like what Kalimullah says Malaysia should be like?

Kalimullah condemns the Attorney-General, Idrus Harun. He says Tommy Thomas is the best Attorney-General since the post of AG was created in 1963. Kepala bapak dia! Tommy Thomas was national traitor Chin Peng’s lawyer, and Tommy cannot even speak the national language of Malaysia.

Do you know you cannot get British citizenship if you cannot speak English? Not only that, but you also need to sit for an exam to see if you know trivial matters such as how many wives Henry VIII had, and when was the Battle of Hastings, and so on.

Jangan harap kalau nak jadi Britain’s Attorney-General if you cannot speak English. But in Malaysia, you can become the AG even if your mother-tongue is Tamil and you cannot speak Bahasa Malaysia.

Kalimullah was Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s chief adviser from 2003 to 2009. And at Kalimullah’s behest, Abdul Gani Patail was retained as Malaysia’s Attorney-General.

Gani Patail was Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s proxy. He was the prosecutor who fabricated charges against Anwar Ibrahim and sent Anwar to jail for 15 years — not only on fabricated charges but in a sham trial as well. They kept amending the charges many times and the key witness perjured himself and kept changing his testimony, that even the judge commented he is a most inconsistent and unreliable witness.

The charges against Anwar should actually have been dropped. But they still found Anwar guilty because he failed to prove his innocence. YES, ANWAR WAS FOUND GUILTY BECAUSE HE FAILED TO PROVE HIS INNOCENCE!

Undang-undang apa ni? And this was kerja Gani Patail. And this was also the man who was promoted to Attorney-General as a reward for sending Anwar to jail.

AND THIS WAS THE MAN WHO KALIMULLAH BACKED AS MALAYSIA’S ATTORNEY-GENERAL!

How much money did Kalimullah steal when Pak Lah was PM? Remember the second Penang bridge? Remember the billions of Wang Ehsan? Remember the Terengganu Monsoon Cup? Remember the Crystal Mosque? Remember the many ECM Libra scams? Remember the Oil-For-Food scam? Remember the ‘Fourth Floor Boys’?

Bersih sangat ke Kalimullah ni? He condemns the whole country and all the AG’s before and after Tommy Thomas, when in truth Mohtar Abdullah, Gani Patail and Tommy Thomas are all birds of a feather. And the corruption under Kalimullah’s watch was so bad that Pak Lah had to resign as PM and hand power to Najib Razak to avoid joining Anwar in jail.

 

‘Big tent’: Rafizi needs to be pragmatic, say analysts

 

Newly elected PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli needs to be realistic in his political strategies for the 15th general election, said political analysts.

Analyst Azmi Hassan said the former Pandan MP needs to be pragmatic when holding the party’s deputy post because BN would have an easy path in the 15th general election if the ‘big tent’ concept were not actualised.

“In this case, Rafizi is too idealistic in his political strategy in rejecting the ‘big tent’.

“Inevitably, the 'big tent' concept is needed, where Pakatan Harapan needs to work together with other opposition groups.

“Political ideology is important. But as said earlier, Rafizi needs to be pragmatic, not too idealistic to reject cooperation because the opposition should be in one tent, regardless of whether the (other) opposition parties have different ideals from PKR or Harapan.

“If the ‘big tent’ concept is not 100 percent realised, then BN will definitely get an easy route," he told Malaysiakini.

The ‘big tent’ approach is a proposal submitted by a top Harapan leader that tried to unite opposition parties to go against the current government consisting of BN and Perikatan Nasional.

For Rafizi, the ‘big tent’ approach is like finding a ‘new tent’, rather than solving an existing problem.

Rafizi previously argued that PKR could not work with Bersatu, a party that is considered a traitor to PKR, because of its role in collapsing the Harapan-led government through the Sheraton Move in 2020.

Prioritising party’s interests

Azmi, who is a former lecturer at University Teknologi Malaysia, said he was confident that Rafizi would be more pragmatic upon becoming deputy president.

“When holding that position, one needs to be pragmatic. One needs to put behind the importance of self-principles.

“(They) have to prioritise the principles and ideology of the party’s interests first,” he said.

Rafizi was the PKR deputy presidential candidate during the PKR election in 2018 but lost narrowly to Mohamed Azmin Ali, who has since defected to Bersatu.

Rafizi withdrew from political activities following the previous party elections to focus on his business.

Yesterday, he won against PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

Meanwhile, Academy Science of Malaysia fellow Shamsul Amri Baharuddin said although Rafizi got the mandate from PKR members and won big in the party election, he could not make so many changes in the party in the near future because Anwar Ibrahim was still leading PKR and Harapan.

“Rafizi's victory brings new hope to PKR supporters, not to Harapan,” he told Malaysiakini.

Shamsul said realistically, Anwar will accept Rafizi's ideas if there are views expressed through discussions in PKR and later with Harapan allies.

"Rafizi is Anwar's protege [...] raised in the world of politics under his umbrella and patronage. The politics of Malay patronage is still very strong, that is, obedience to its patrons and protectors,” he said. - Mkini

SC: At least RM24.7m may have flowed to clone firm scams

 

The Securities Commission Malaysia's (SC) investigation into 10 clone firm scams has revealed that at least RM24.7 million may have flowed to several "masterminds" of these scams based on 154 bank statements reviewed.

The findings revealed that the modus operandi of these clone firm scams is to target victims/investors who are willing to part with a small amount of money but with the expectation of making huge returns in a short period of time, a statement from SC said today.

Clone firm scams are generally companies that fraudulently impersonate a legitimate or a licensed entity, including misusing the name and logo of a public listed company, corporate credentials and website, to dupe investors and solicit funds, the SC said.

“Given that most of the victims lost only a small amount of money, many were reluctant to come forward to cooperate with the SC,” the statement said.

The modus operandi typically involves putting out advertisements on social media to lure investors with investment packages guaranteeing high returns and seemingly managed by “licensed intermediaries”, it said.

Apart from that, a large number of “agents” are used to lure potential victims, soliciting investments through WhatsApp once the victims clicked on the link provided.

They then request victims to deposit monies for the “investment schemes” into bank accounts held by mule account holders to layer and launder the illegal proceeds received.

In the course of the investigation, at least 32 mule account holders were identified as facilitating the scam operators, the statement said.

The operators generated a large number of illegal proceeds given a large number of victims, with approximately RM3.6 million flowing through one mule account within six months in one of the scams, the statement added.

Out of 24 victims identified, 15 declined to cooperate with the regulator. The SC is currently reviewing the available evidence and considering various enforcement options.

Investors have to play their role by exercising vigilance and scepticism when evaluating investment opportunities such as checking the legitimacy of individuals or entities who approached them to invest in any investment scheme marketed through social media and WhatsApp chats, the statement said.

Investors are also advised not to deposit money into personal bank accounts of any individuals when requested to do so. Investors should refer to the SC’s Investor Alert List for details on unauthorised websites, investment products, companies and individuals, the statement added.

- Bernama