The cost of living in Malaysia has skyrocketed. That’s a fact that has to be endured by almost everyone in Malaysia, despite of the countless claims by the ruling government that the economic growth in Malaysia is doing pretty well. SO WELL THAT THE CITIZENS HAVE TO SUFFER!

Sadly, the so-called economic growth is not giving us more value to our ringgit or improves our living quality. The poor and the middle class people are really feeling the pinch of the raising price of basic necessities, especially food. Eggs price may have been lowered a week or so before the 2008 general election, but what good does it do to us, when the price of other basic goods more or less remains either the same or increases? Especially when the government announce the new fuel price on 4th June 2008, effective 4 hours later. Haha, and that gives us time to prepare for the slap. 

Let us take a look at the recent rice crisis. The government may have ensure us that there will be enough supply for Malaysian, and the rice price will not be raise in short notice, but I guess, it’s bound to happen sooner or later, whether directly or indirectly. Even if it doesn’t, people in the food industries are bound to take advantage of news like these anyway.

And yes, the fragrant rice has been lowered down by what? 10% and yet we are told to expect other essentials to be raise by 10% by 1st July 2008. *snort* People should learn not to trust what the government say. They play dirty. Not even one person in Malaysian politics should be trusted. They tend to say one thing,and mean the other. 

 We may be able to enjoy a basic pack of nasi lemak (without side dishes) at a minimal price of RM 1.00, but one of these days, I daresay it’s going to be raise to a what?  RM 1.20 per pack? Either that or the nasi lemak portion will be reduced a little so that the seller could earn a little bit more.

Unfortunately for us, the consumers, we can’t do much to stop goods from raising price, no matter how we vent, boycott certain product or even go on riot. We’ll only get ourselves into trouble with the authorities. Aiyah! Nevermind lah! Just let them do as they please. Let them get richer and let us be poorer.

But, there’s one thing we can do to save our pocket from getting on fire for overspending, which is make do with less and living frugally. For those who are not familiar with the word ‘frugal’, frugal living is the practice of acquiring goods and services at minimum cost, achieved through economical restraints or creative measures. By living frugally, we can conserve some of our money for other things we deem more important.

Here’s what we can do to live frugally:

Eat out less, go for home cook foods. But then again, sometimes, cooking at home for meals can be expensive, if the ingredient for certain recipe is too elaborate. It’s understandable that cooking can be pretty frustrating and time consuming too, if you’re just a mediocre cook. Go for simple, easy to cook budget recipes that need five or less ingredients to make. And if you’re used to buying fragrant rice, why not try the normal ones? They taste almost the same even though not as fragrant. Cutting up meat and vegetables into small bite sized pieces instead of cooking them in big whole helps in saving too. Or cook one pot dish, where everything is inside. (Like rubbish right? Haha. But then again, it’s affordable)

Good savers always plan their groceries well, so plan your groceries and always be on a lookout for cheap items on sales. Compare prices and only buy what’s necessary.

Major supermarkets in Malaysia are quite competitive when it comes to pricing their goods, and they put up good offers every now and then. Keep your eyes peeled for weekly or even daily offers through newspapers or catalogue. Buy your groceries according to your needs, and not what you want, and stock them up to avoid having to shop too often.

One thing about Malaysian is we’re too scared of people labeling us as cheapskate. There are a lot of supermarket and fast food restaurant giving away coupons. Personally, dear readers, the only thing that probably kept me going for a quick lunch or dinner in McDonalds once in awhile is because of their superb coupons giveaway. These coupons can be obtained through newspapers and at the outlet itself. All I need to do is present the coupon to the cashier in charge, and I get a meal item worth more than RM4 for free every time I purchase their value meal. Every now and then, I do get odd looks from their staffs and onlookers, but then again why waste good offers if it do you more good than harm. While using coupons takes some effort and planning, it can shave anywhere from 25-40% off of your shopping bills. Don’t ever be embarrassed to use promotional coupons. Using promotional coupons doesn’t mean you’re a cheapskate, it merely meant you’re giving more value to what you buy, and this way, you’re making more out of less.

Boys and girls, ladies and gentleman, now is a good time to cut on your movie trips at the cinema. Watch em online. Plenty of good movie site allow you to watch for free. Hidup Pirates, haha. Oh well, you’re gonna have to sacrifice the thrill you get when you watch them at cinema with the surround system and stuff. You can save more than RM10 by not going to the cinema to watch em.

Cut down on trips back to hometown. It is good to be filial to your elders and visiting them often, but too much trips back to your hometown can burn a big hole in your pocket, especially if you’re driving. Instead of going back weekly for a visit, trying cutting it down to twice a month visit, and use a more economical method in showing your love and concern towards your elders by calling them and smsing them more often. If you’re a student, make use of your student’s status to get cheaper fares for your trip back to hometown.

Children these days take things for granted, as adults in this era tend to simply buy them things that they want. Just look around. Ten years back, it’s hard to see children at a tender age of twelve using cell phones, but these days, it’s just common sight. I’m aware that cell phones are some sort of a necessity in this hi-tech age, however children must be taught to earn what they wanted, not merely giving in to their whims. I’ve seen many parents simply giving their children what they requested without telling them that they have to earn it if they want something. This is definitely not a healthy trend.

There are a lot more ways to give more value to your money. Those written above are merely basic stuff that can be done to live frugally. It is important to remember that we should teach our children to live in moderation and not waste the resources that they have. It’s crucial to start early in order to promote frugal living.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This article is taken from the Sun, Malaysia

PUTRAJAYA: Against a backdrop of anger and frustration as the people come to grips with the new high prices for fuel, the cabinet yesterday decided that there will no further price hikes this year to allow the people time to adjust to to the situation.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the government is aware of the consequences should the price rocket upwards in the world market, but it will maintain its decision and find other means to bear the additional expenses.

On June 4, the government had decided that subsidy for petrol be fixed at 30 sen per litre, and that there would be a monthly review based on world prices.

Because of this formula, petrol price went up 78 sen to RM2.70 per litre, while diesel went up by RM1 to RM2.58.

“However, the price on the world market increased drastically to more than USD130 per barrel on June 8 and is expected to be higher in the coming months,” Abdullah said.

“This resulted in petrol price in the local market increasing to RM3.45 per litre. If the government were to implement the 30 sen subsidy, the price of petrol would have to be raised from RM2.70 to RM3.15 per litre next month.”

Although the 30-sen buffer will not be used for the rest of the year should crude prices rise further, he said it will be used if world prices drop. This would cause the present pump prices to drop.

Abdullah assured that the government is “thinking of all kinds of additional measures because we know the price increase is high and everyone, including the government, is facing difficulties, not only the people”.

Asked whether the government’s revenue will be affected by the decision, he said: “Since the price of petrol has increased, we could hope to get additional revenue from Petronas.”

At the press conference, Abdullah also announced another move to help civil servants better manage their household expenses and cash flow — their salary will be paid in two instalments effective August.

“The first half will be paid in the middle of the month and the rest at the end of the month. Deductions such as for income tax, Employees Provident Fund and others will be done at the end of the month,” he said.

Asked whether he would recommend the private sector do the same, he said: “I see this as a good move to help our workers manage their household cash flow better.”

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Blah, blah, blah. Pak Lah stop lying to us. I’m not convinced that you will not raise the petrol price. The cabinet also announced that the petrol price will be raised in August. But what happened after that? SURPRISE, SURPRISE! 70 cent per litre hit us in our face a few days after.

I bet, after this, you will still come out with the lame speech “I’m sorry, the government can no longer support to give more subsidy, etc etc. I am forced to take back my words. You people should stop whining and adapt, yadda, yadda, and I’m off to oversea to hide will my beloved assitants will have my actions explained to you in awhile”

 Nevermind that, Pak Lah. You are the most powerful person in Malaysia now. All that come out from your mouth is like a deity’s words. We, the citizens, will have to follow whether we like it or not, unless we want BPR come knocking at our doors, or we want a free honeymoon trip in the forever lovely ISA!

Sorry to break it to you, dear PM. But the people are not only the ones who are suffering the current state of economy. Malaysian infrastructure development, economy and welfare  are suffering he impact too. Malaysia itself is going down, and is struggling to climb up. And, pray tell, how are we going to attract foreign investors and tourists to generate income when all the government talks about is religion, religion, religion? You are going to scare off the big boys in the west, or is this your true intentions? Only welcoming the Islamic countries to invest in us? Good move. Soon we will have the rest of the world shunning us for only giving benefits to the Middle East countries.

Seriously, when we talk about business, leave the religion out of it. Show them what Malaysia have to offer, emphasize on technological exchange as well as the advantage of investing in Malaysia.  Know this: “Make your neighbour rich, they will make you richer. Make your people rich, you can earn more tax”. If the government continue to bully the citizens into poverty, what are there left for us to contribute? Yea, we still have  things left to contribute, and that is more problems and headaches for you!

 

The article below is taken from The Star Malaysia, Wednesday, June 11 2008

Civil servants can now take up part-time jobs or businesses

KUALA LUMPUR: Civil servants can take up part-time weekend jobs or businesses to supplement their income in view of the rising cost of living following food and fuel price increases, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator Tan Sri Amirsham Abdul Aziz.

He said the Government was encouraging all Malaysians to work harder over weekends, and was also looking at facilitating those who wanted casual part-time employment at teller or counter services in the public and private sectors.

“This is a long-term solution to the high cost of living we are experiencing,” said Amirsham, who also heads the Economic Planning Unit.

He was speaking reporters after opening the seventh East Asia Poverty Analysis and Data Initiative consultation meeting and regional workshop on “poverty monitoring and impact evaluation,” here yesterday.

On Monday, Human Resources Minister Datuk S. Subramaniam asked PSD to study a proposal by Cuepacs to allow civil servants to work after office hours.

He said the move might affect productivity, and his deputy Datuk Noraini Ahmad was against the proposal.

Amirsham said the EPU, which jointly organised the three-day workshop with the Institute of Malaysia and International Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and the World Bank Institute, was looking at medium and long-term solutions.

He also said the Government was confident of achieving its target of completely eradicating hardcore poverty by 2010, despite the increasing cost of living.

“In the long run, we need to give a group of people more opportunities for income generation, to get themselves out of the pressure of food price and cost of living increases.

“The Government is providing a conducive environment for the opportunity to raise income levels, but at the end of the day, it is up to the people to grab the opportunities,” he said.

Asked about the RM2bil the Government would save following its cost-cutting measures, he said the Government was doing a lot for the people, including allocating for food subsidies.

KUALA LUMPUR: Civil servants can take up part-time weekend jobs or businesses to supplement their income in view of the rising cost of living following food and fuel price increases, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator Tan Sri Amirsham Abdul Aziz.

He said the Government was encouraging all Malaysians to work harder over weekends, and was also looking at facilitating those who wanted casual part-time employment at teller or counter services in the public and private sectors.

“This is a long-term solution to the high cost of living we are experiencing,” said Amirsham, who also heads the Economic Planning Unit.

He was speaking reporters after opening the seventh East Asia Poverty Analysis and Data Initiative consultation meeting and regional workshop on “poverty monitoring and impact evaluation,” here yesterday.

On Monday, Human Resources Minister Datuk S. Subramaniam asked PSD to study a proposal by Cuepacs to allow civil servants to work after office hours.

He said the move might affect productivity, and his deputy Datuk Noraini Ahmad was against the proposal.

Amirsham said the EPU, which jointly organised the three-day workshop with the Institute of Malaysia and International Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and the World Bank Institute, was looking at medium and long-term solutions.

He also said the Government was confident of achieving its target of completely eradicating hardcore poverty by 2010, despite the increasing cost of living.

“In the long run, we need to give a group of people more opportunities for income generation, to get themselves out of the pressure of food price and cost of living increases.

“The Government is providing a conducive environment for the opportunity to raise income levels, but at the end of the day, it is up to the people to grab the opportunities,” he said.

Asked about the RM2bil the Government would save following its cost-cutting measures, he said the Government was doing a lot for the people, including allocating for food subsidies.

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Ohh, now the idiots are admitting that we are not earning enough. And now the civil servants are not only allowed but encouraged to take up part time job so that they can earn more to support their cost of living?What the hell is this? I call this bullshit! Work harder on free time and weekends my ass! Especially civil servants! They already work “hard enough” by chatting and tea-breaking, how can they work harder? Well anyway, I don’t agree that civil servants should take up part time jobs.

Working 9-5 per day is not enough, and Malaysians are now expected to open a burger stall til the wee hour?  These people already lack of concentration and have the efficiency of a turtle at work. Asking them to do part time jobs will definitely decrease the efficiency of public service. See what happened to the education industries. Teachers who teaches tuition after school hours earns more, definitely. But then again, can you guarantee that they teach properly in schools during regular working hour? If they do teach properly in school, why is it necessary for parents to send their kids to tuition. Schools should be sufficient then.

You’re asking civil servants to work part time. That’s ridiculous! How the hell a civil servant who lack of rest can concentrate on  working the next day? Ohh, good, now we can have a policeman sleeping on the job while someone gets raped in the back alley or robbers are fleeing gleefully after having robbed a bank. Well done, boy, great thinking! Try asking a pilot to work part time, boy. Give the presses some explosive news of a plane crashing, you fool!

And you’re asking people who have families to work on weekends. You are depriving children the quality time with their parents by suggesting this! Parents will neglect their children’s welfare if they come bak too tired to even make a witty conversation, what more entertain their children. My, my, it won’t be a wonder if there’ll be more of Nurin and Sharlinie’s case. If you want to be ignorant, please kindly keep your foolish thoughts that doesn’t bear the consequence of your words to yourself. Instead of encouraging people to work part time and work harder, you should tell people to be smart and get involve in some share market or forex. That, can generate income in a smart way if done correctly. Tsk, and you call yourself a minister.

Man gets nod from wives and court to marry a fourth

KUALA TERENGGANU: A property negotiator has received the blessings of his three wives to wed his newfound sweetheart who is 30 years younger than him.The Syariah High Court approved the application of Abu Bakar Embong, 54, after it found that the father of 25 children met all the prerequisites under Islamic law to take a fourth wife.

Judge Shaikh Ahmad Ismail granted Abu Bakar, who also has three grandchildren, permission to take Suhaili Alias, 24, as his wife.

Shaikh Ahmad advised Abu Bakar to be fair to all his wives, tend to the religious needs of his children, and take his three wives on a pilgrimage to Mecca.

Abu Bakarhas fathered 11 boys and 14 girls from his three marriages, with the youngest being four months old and the eldest 25 years.

“The court had considered the affidavit submitted by Abu Bakar, where he stated that he earned RM20,000 a month and had provided houses and cars for each of his wives,” the judge added.

“Therefore, with consent from his wives, the court allows Abu Bakar to marry a fourth wife.”

His three wives – Asnah Jusoh, 46, Mazumi Ismail, 45, and Norazlina Ariffin, 25, – all from Kampung Telok Manir here, also told the court that they had no qualms about their husband marrying another.

The wives later told reporters that their husband was a loving, fair and responsible man and they had arranged for him to marry Suhaili, who is unemployed.

When met, Abu Bakar said there was no secret to keeping all his wives happy, but he believed in treating them equally.

“As long as I can afford another wife and am strong, I don’t see why I can’t marry,” added Abu Bakar, who married his first wife at the age of 19.

Recently, the same court had deferred its decision on an application by lorry driver Mohamed Nor Awang, 57, to marry for the fourth time. It was not convinced he could financially support another wife.

Mohamed had already obtained the nod from his three wives to marry clerk Suzi Sulong, 34.

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Above is an article taken from The Star Malaysia ,Tuesday 10thJune 2008, and boy, don’t I feel like I want to puke at the news. What’s this? A man with 3 wives can’t get enough and wants to take a fouth one? This is absurd. I was never a fan of polygamy, and never will be, though it seems normal for a muslim man to take more than one wife ( especially rich datuks).

Ok, this guy is 54 years old man, and has fathered 25 children. (flunked) 25 children is not good enough? Oh my god! It’s not that 3 of his wives are sterile that he must marry another in order to continue his lineage.

Ugh! He spawned his kids like mushrooms after the rain, and I seriously doubt he can remember all of his children’s name, what more changing their diapers when they were born( or to be born). I bet he just left the dirty works with  women and her family?

 Whatever the hell the girl is thinking? She’s just goddamn 24 years old and she want to marry him. She can do better than that. cant she choose a younger man to marry? My hipothesis is he’s either a paedhophile or she simply have sexual desire for a man old enough to be her father! Newfound sweetheart my ass! He already have 3 wives at home, and yet he still have time for courtship? ( and yet the wives is satisfied with him) Bravo, old boy! Even your eldest kid is older than your soon to be wife. Disgusting!

It was mentioned that he earned RM20,000 per month. Gosh. Issit before tax and afer tax? I wonder how much did he give to each of his wives monthly to tend for their household needs. And I can never understand why 3 of his wives consented him to marry another. What kind of woman who’s able to share her husband with another? Are there no jealousy among them?

 His wives mentioned to the reporters that the old boy is a loving and responsible husband. I’m an outsider, and I don’t think I should comment on their statement, but then again, I can’t help it. It’s too absurd for me to accept, especially in the modern era. There’s 7 days a week, and 24 hours per day. How did he divide his attention to each of his wives and children? I doubt it’s enough, and I don’t think all of them are living under one roof either, and how did they know that he’s being as equally affectionate with one wife and another?CCTV, perhaps (snort), and yeah, what an entertainment it would serve. I bet it’s much better than pornography.

I seriously doubt the man use any sort of ahem… ‘protection’ while having sexual relations with his wife( wives), since he manage to spawned so many children. I wonder if he knows what is STD? Ewww. How can a decent woman accept the fact that her husband had unprotected sex with another woman then comes home, stripped off his clothing and then toss her onto the bed and ravage her the same way he did with his other wife? (wait, perhaps he din’t ravage her the same way, he must have learnt kama sutra or something so that he won’t bored himself to death with the same sexual position). I’ll definitely vomit at the sight of his erection if I’m one of those women. Other woman’s lubricants is probably still there even though he washed them away. *faint*

The man must have just marry for sex. And the women, if not crazy or seriously out of their mind, they must have enjoyed some sort of preference towards orgies. ( and hell, yes, we never know if they’e involve in some sort of kinky sex, after all, in their situation, it is considered legal and consecrated) 

Below is an excerpt taken from The Star Malaysia, Monday 9th June 2008

IPOH: Consumers can expect the prices of many essential items to increase by as much as 10% next month.Federation of Sundry Goods Merchant Associations of Malaysia president Lean Hing Chuan said sundry store owners have no choice but to raise the prices of goods not controlled by ceiling prices to survive the impact of the fuel price hike.Lean said canned food and other items with plastic packaging were likely to be sold at a higher price but declined to disclose the actual list of goods.

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I’m pleased with the fact that I’ll finally get tell my physic teacher back in high school that physic law that she contstantly try to drill to my thick skull “Everything that goes up, must come down” definitely can’t be applied to Malaysian current state of economy. Obviously, there are some certain things that goes up, stays up, and will never comes down. Well at least they stay up and have no sign of coming down at least anytime soon.  Ah, the wonder of physics law. They never cease to amuse me.

Below is an article taken from www.chedet.com, written by the former Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, on the oil price increase that has been announced the the Malaysian government on 11th June 2008, effective 4 hours after the announcement been made.

A few days ago the Government decided to ban sale of petrol to foreign cars. It flipped. Now foreign cars can buy again. Flopped.Knowing that in a few days it was going to raise the price and foreigners would be allowed to buy, why cannot the Government just wait instead of banning and unbanning.But be that as it may what could the Government have done to lessen the burden on the people that results from the increase in petrol price.

In the first place the Government should not have floated the Ringgit. A floating rate creates uncertainties and we cannot gain anything from the strengthened Ringgit. Certainly the people have not experienced any increase in their purchasing power because of the appreciation in the exchange rate between the US Dollar and the Ringgit.Actually the Ringgit has increased by about 80 sen (from RM3.80 to RM3.08 to 1 US Dollar) per US Dollar, i.e. by more than 20 per cent. Had the Government retained the fixed rate system and increased the value of the Ringgit, say 10 per cent at a time, the cost of imports, in Ringgit terms can be monitored and reduced by 10 per cent. At 20 per cent appreciation the cost of imports should decrease by 20 per cent. But we know the prices of imported goods or services have not decreased at all. This means we are paying 20 per cent higher for our imports including the raw material and components for our industries.

Since oil prices are fixed in US Dollar, the increase in US Dollar prices of oil should also be mitigated by 20 per cent in Malaysian Ringgit.But the Government wants to please the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and decided to float the Ringgit. As a result the strengthening of the Ringgit merely increased our cost of exports without giving our people the benefit of lower cost of imports.

This is not wisdom after the event. I had actually told a Government Minister not to float the Ringgit three years ago. But of course I am not an expert, certainly I know little about the international financial regimes.I believe the people expect the increase of petrol price. But what they are angry about is the quantum and the suddenness. The Prime Minister was hinting at August but suddenly it came two months earlier, just after the ban on sale of petrol to foreigners.

If the increase had been more gradual, the people would not feel it so much. But of course this means that the Government would have to subsidise, though to a decreasing extent.Can the Government subsidise? I am the “adviser” to Petronas but I know very little about it beyond what is published in its accounts. What I do know may not be very accurate but should be sufficient for me to draw certain conclusions.

Roughly Malaysia produces 650,000 barrels of crude per day. We consume 400,000 barrels leaving 250,000 barrels to be exported.Three years ago the selling price of crude was about USD30 per barrel. Today it is USD130 – an increase of USD100. There is hardly any increase in the production cost so that the extra USD100 can be considered as pure profit.Our 250,000 barrels of export should earn us 250,000 x 100 x 365 x 3 = RM27,375,000,000 (twenty seven billion Ringgit) But Petronas made a profit of well over RM70 billion, all of which belong to the Government.

By all accounts the Government is flushed with money.But besides petrol the prices of palm oil, rubber and tin have also increased by about 400 per cent. Plantation companies and banks now earn as much as RM3 billion in profits each. Taxes paid by them must have also increased greatly.I feel sure that maintaining the subsidy and gradually decreasing it would not hurt the Government finances.In the medium term ways and means must be found to reduce wasteful consumption and increase income. We may not be able to fix the minimum wage at a high level but certainly we can improve the minimum wage.Actually our wages are high compared to some of our neighbours. The investors who come here are attracted not by cheap labour but by other factors, among which is the attitude of the Government towards the business community and the investors in particular.

From what I hear business friendliness is wanting in the present Government – so much so that even Malaysians are investing in other countries. There are rumblings about political affiliations influencing decisions. Generally Government politicians are said to be arrogant.

Malaysia is short of manpower. The labour intensive industries are not benefiting Malaysians. Foreign workers are remitting huge sums of money home.The industrial policy must change so that high tech is promoted in order to give Malaysians higher wages to cope with rising costs of living.The world is facing economic turmoil due to the depreciation of the US Dollar, the sub-prime loan crisis, rising oil and raw material prices, food shortages and the continued activities of the greedy hedge funds. The possibility of a US recession is real. In a way the US is already in recession. The world economy will be dragged down by it.

Malaysia will be affected by all these problems. I wonder whether the Government is prepared for this. We cannot avoid all the negative effects but there must be ways to mitigate against them and to lessen the burden that must be borne by all Malaysians. I am sure the Government will not just pass all these problems to the people as the review of oil prices every month seem to suggest.

 

 

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Now, this is my comment on the above issue. To me, the 78cent per litre of petrol increase overnight is rather absurd. The price increase is burning hole in the citizen’s pocket, and will without a doubt be a burden to people who are now already struggling to to earn their living in Malaysia. The cost of food and other daily essentials will skyrocket as well sooner or later. I doubt it’s avoidable.

The recent oil price increase will caused indefinite havoc in Malaysian economy, not to mention the standard of living will be lower as the people will have to make do with less. People are already trying to acommodatethe economic changes since the new prime minister came to power back in 2003, and yet, the ruling government have the cheek to tell people to change their lifestyle and be thriffy.

As far as I’m concern, my family and I are already living a frugal life, and spend strictly according to our needs, and I’m more than sure most families in Malaysia has adopted frugal living as well. Instead of telling us, the citizens to be thriffy, why not you VIP and VVIPs adopt our way of living? I still can see our Prime Minister and the cabinet ministers feasting on god knows what kind of food on the table on numerous occasion. Hey, people, that’s from ur tax! How dare you ask us to be thriffy when we already having 1-2 dishes with a bowl of rice per meal while you enjoy a full course meal fit for royalty. Instead of telling us the citizens to change our lifestyle,people in the current government are the ones who should be doing that. No more big feasts, and definitely no more presidential suits and first class air ticket for outstation business trips.

What’s more, the governtment suggest us to use public transport instead of personal transport. Some of us can accept this suggestion, as it’s true that public transport is alot cheaper than personal transport. Public transport is cheaper, and yet, it’s not suitable for everyone. It doesn’t go to all places in Malaysia and sad to say, it has the efficiency of a senile old man.  Buses are slow, and sad to say, sometimes it’s not safe too. how many busses has been involved in freak accidents due to the driver’s reckless riving? I shudder to see the statistic. LRT and trains don’t actually offer the comfort of travelling. It’s merely convenient, but as convenient as it is, it doesn’t go all around Malaysia, as I mentioned earlier. Using public transport, is easier said than done to most of the citizens.

What can we exactly do to brace the impact of the current economic state? Well, it’s almost nothing we can do except bear with it and whine, whine whine. The goventment did mention that the oil price will be reviewed monthly in accordance of the market price. What does this supposed to mean? I daresay that the government are slowly taking away the oil subsidy given to the citizens.

At any rate, the oil price may hit RM5 per litre soon enough. By then, people who are in poor and middle economic class will eat a meal a day as they can no longer afford the luxury of eating 3 main meals daily. We, the citizens are being hit like punching bags by the current state of economy and yet the government are telling us that it is not us who suffers most. I doubt the goventment is poor. After all, citizens pay numerous kind of tax yearly to the government.

 

I stumbled across this news a few days ago in www.thestar.com .my, and I found myself laughing at the news. Finally, such things are revealed for the eyes of the ‘innocent’ and ‘religious’ Malaysians to see. Gosh, this is not new stuff. What is there to rave about?  The government may have been turning blind eyes towards all these hush-hush, only to  be talked about behind the confines of bedrooms topic, but I’ve been seriously aware about all these sexual escapades teenagers these days are engaged to ever since I was in junior high, tho I was not interested in the opposite sex until I grew older.

But then again, the thing that surprises me, is not the gory adventures teens these days are having, but the price of it. RM5 for a full sexual intercourse service is way to cheap. What can we buy with RM5 in Malaysia these days? Even a meal at the mamak stall costs more than that. I’m questioning, not the sexual drive of these teenagers, but their morality and conscience. Don’t you feel dirty and cheap when you sell yourself off at RM5? I would feel that I’m such a whore if I’m forced to sell myself off at RM5. I’ll be damned if I do that, and hell I’ll call myself a cheap slut any day if RM5 is my price. God, people, if you want to sell yourself badly in the street (in this case, in school) please do it with style. Ask for more for god sake. A pack of nasi lemak with a piece of chicken costs more than that.

Anyway, the government should be blame for these social illness though. If the discussion of sexual intercourse are mildly allowed in schools eg: Sex Education, such disgusting illness might be deteriorate. Teenagers are slaves to raging hormones, and no matter how you people try to drill religious teachings into their heads, their groins speaks better than their brain. So to put it simply, no matter how religious someone is, sexual desires is still there. Why not educate them and satisfy the youngster’s curiousity in an educational way, letting them know the dangers of having casual sex so that they will be able to thread carefully? Telling them that it’s a ‘sin’ to have sex out of wedlock is not enough. Teenagers will always be teenagers after all. The fear of god won’t stop them from having sex, instead, it serves as an excitement and exhiliration in doing something illegal. 

The report mention that those teenagers who are involved in these actvities comes from religious family. Oh gee, why am I not surprised. What would you learn about sex if your father is a damned polygamist with 2, 3, 4 wives, a a few more mistresses somewhere in the closet. You’ll probably want to experience different women as your father too. Oh, my! A religious man with 2,3, 4 wives. I wonder why he marry them, anyway. Don’t give me the ‘I fell in love badly’ with the lady.  A man in love with their wife would stay faithful and monogamous, as they say it ‘For better or worst, til death do us apart’. Screw your reasoning. These people probably marry a few wives for sex, to save the prostitute fee. And yeah, on top of that, government recognize it as legal too.

Below is an excerpt from The Star, Malaysia

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Monday June 2, 2008- The Star

FOR only RM5, an adolescent gets to experience sex with his schoolmates. This was the shocking revelation recorded by counsellors who organised a youth camp for problematic secondary school students in Selangor recently.In a front-page report in Metro Ahad, a 14-year-old student known as “Andy” admitted to paying RM5 “for a round of sex” with a senior at school, adding they would either “do it” at his or her home.He said both parents were unaware of the activities as they thought the two were studying together and confessed that sometimes, one of his friends would join them for a “threesome”.

“If I need sex, I only have to call or send her an SMS for an appointment.

“It all started when I began watching pornographic clips with my friend two years ago. Since then, my desire for sex grew and when I knew that this girl in school did not mind doing it for a fee, I decided to try it with her,” he said.

Camp organising committee secretary Mahezan Baharom said the counsellors were shocked with how “frank and candid” the students were about their sexual activities although they were aware that they should not be having sex at their age. Mahezan said apart from sex, the participants – aged between 13 and 15 – admitted to masturbating in a group, having multiple sex partners, consuming alcohol, glue sniffing, theft and smoking.

“Students who are involved in social ills or misfits do not only come from poor families. We have participants whose parents are well to do, VIPs and those whose mothers and fathers are religious people,” he said.

It’s 1st june 2008, and it’s Media Freedom day. In Malaysia *smirk*. BENARKAH? As far as I’m concern, there’s no such thing as media freedom in Malaysia, unless you are bootlicking the current government.  One sentence critisising the oh so mighty government now, and you’re oh so dead. They’ll throw you into ISA and let you rot to death over there. That stinks! Malaysians, especially the presses can walk and march all they want, but they’ll never be freedom to write or to express yourself freely in Malaysia. I’m not being bitter about it, this is fact. Journalism is supposed to be the first step in history making, sadly Malaysian history is tainted by deceit and bias. There’s no longer truth in news being written in the newspaper.  I’d say, power and money is the root of all evil. But in this case, it’s an abomination in writing industry. Truth can no longer be told. Mind can no longer be expressed. What’s left is well drafted history, corrupting younger generation with sugar coated, honey smeared stories that’s enough to lull raging infant to sleep.