For the past month, two questions have obsessed Malaysians.
The first has been answered, viz: whether Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will bow down to pressures from inside Umno for a quick exit as Prime Minister by announcing that he would not defend the post of Umno President in the forthcoming Umno General Assembly.
The second question, still awaiting answer, is whether the government could respond nimbly to the rapid fall in world crude prices to undo its unconscionable 41% hike in fuel prices in June which had kicked off a relentless inflationary spiral hitting a 27-year high.
When the price of petrol in Malaysia was hiked by 41% by 78 sen from RM1.92 to RM2.70 a litre, the price of world crude oil was around US$140 per barrel.
World oil prices have plummeted to a one-year low below US$78 a barrel, but the price of petrol is RM2.45 or reduced by a mere 25 sen in two reductions.
This is clearly unacceptable and the situation is not made any more palatable with the statement yesterday by the Minister for Domestic Trade and Consumers Affairs Datuk Seri Shahrir Samad of the possibility that the price of petrol reverting to the old price of RM1.92 a litre if world crude oil price continues to dip below US$72 per barrel. Continue reading “World crude oil below US$78 a barrel – Najib should “burn midnight oil” to present lowered pricing for petrol on Monday”