Time for a national energy policy: Save Malaysian economy and our people

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Media Statement
by Ronniu Liew Thian Khiew
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(Petaling Jaya, Tuesday):

 "Pak Lah, selamatkan kami dengan segera!" (Pak Lah, save our lives now!)
 
" Dacing sudah rosak?"  (Has the scale broken up?)
 
”RM1.08 per liter for motorcars; RM1.49 per liter for fishing boats...Unfair!!!"
 
These were just some of the banners hung up by the fishermen at a meeting with the Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang in a fishing village called Hutan Melintang in Lower Perak last Saturday.
 
One could also see a giant noose hanging down from the ceiling, signifying the dilemma of the fishermen after the recent diesel hike.
 
Some 1,000 fishermen from Perak and Selangor were there to seek help from the Opposition Leader. They claimed that instead of making a decent living from fishing, they stand to lose some RM4, 000 to RM5, 000 each outing (about 10 days per outing). The cost of each outing is no less than RM18, 000, and the bulk of the cost comes from consumption of diesel (10,000 liter x RM1.49=RM14, 900).
 
They turned to DAP for help after failing to get any favorable response from any of the Barisan Nasional ministers they approached earlier.
 
MCA President Ong Ka Ting had issued a statement to pay lip-service a day earlier, hoping that the fishermen would not turn up in full force to meet up with the DAP delegation that consists of several MPs, SAs, CEC and State leaders.
 
But the fishermen were not the only group that suffered badly from the recent petrol and diesel price hike.
 
It's time for the BN Government to draw up a national energy policy to save Malaysian economy. After all, Malaysia will turn to be a net importer of crudes in five years according to Mustapha Mohamad, the Minister in PM's Department.
 
And profits from Petronas must only be used to help fishermen and other ordinary Malaysian people, and not for bailing out cronies and white elephants. Why can't the Government sell diesel at RM1.08 per liter to the fishermen?
 
Malaysia has never joined OPEC and hence able to produce and sell any amount of crude oils at any price. This liberty has been abused by the Government leaders, working against the interest of our people. Malaysia should join the big family of OPEC and allow our production and prices be regulated through the cartel.
 
Malaysia should also review its involvement in selling crude in futures market and dealing with long term contracts. We have reasons to believe that Malaysia has suffered heavy losses in both futures and long term contracts dealings following the financial and economic crisis in 1997.
 
At the moment, Malaysia is selling the bulk of our natural petroleum gas to Japan in the form of long term contracts. This must also be reviewed to protect our national interest.
 
The Government should continue to use the huge profits from Petronas to subsidize petrol and diesel prices. They must not forget that Petronas belongs to the Malaysian people and part of the profits should be used to lessen the burden of the men in the streets.