Saturday, January 9, 2010

Could this be a NEW WAY to SUBSIDISE SUGAR Too?

malaysiakini and other MSM are full of articles on the ALLAH issue and so perhaps no one is aware of the other issues affecting Malaysia.
Recently the suthorities introduced the 20-litre ruling on foreign vehicles and well done to the authorities for having the intelligence to waive the rules for Singapore-registered vehicles as they already enter with the 3/4 tank rule.
I guess one of the unstated reasons is that Malaysians who work in Singapore also have to drive such vehicles.
As part of the government's plan to reduce expenditure and that includes subsidies, the price of sugar has been increased by 20sen a kilo and the claim is that the government still subsidises our sugar by some 80sen.
After the success with the 20-litre restriction for petrol, the authorities have become bolder and are now proposing further restrictions. According to the Star report Fuel price by car size
the plan is the larger the car the more you have to pay for fuel.
Since when did car size become a determinant for wealth? For example many people buy bigger and older cars because they are much cheaper and they need to accommodate more passengers. Or older folks do not change cars so often as they cannot afford to buy new flashy cars.
It is really too much when the government tries to micro-manage such details. It is also inefficient and requires more admin work and costs.
So we apply the same logic of fuel control measures to sugar consumption, we should be rationing subsidised sugar to citizens. How about using Mykad to buy cheap sugar limited to 3kg per month? Or maybe sell sugar at different prices based on stomach capacity? This will require people to show their weight card and the value of the subsidy will depend on your weight.
The more you weigh, the less subsidy you will receive.
Absurd! That's what you are thinking? But that is the same principle they are going to apply to the proposed fuel restrictions.

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