Tips on filling your vehicles

Subject: FW: Tips on filling your vehicles
This is a Message received from a friend:

I don’t know what you guys are paying for petrol… but here in Durban, we are also paying higher, up to 47.35 per litre. But my line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to get more of your money’s worth for every litre. Here at the Marian Hill Pipeline, where I work in Durban, we deliver about 4 million litres in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline. One day is diesel; the next day is jet fuel, and petrol, LRP and Unleaded. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 litres.

ONLY BUY OR FILL UP YOUR CAR OR BIKKIE IN THE EARLY MORNING WHEN THE GROUND TEMPERATURE IS STILL COLD. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground, the denser the fuel, when it gets warmer petrol expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening…. your litre is not exactly a litre.

In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the petrol, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products play an important role. A 1degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

WHEN YOU’RE FILLING UP, DO NOT SQUEEZE THE TRIGGER OF THE NOZZLE TO A FAST MODE. If you look, you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode, you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapours that are created, while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapour return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapour. Those vapours are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you’re getting less worth for your money.

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TIPS IS TO FILL UP WHEN YOUR TANK IS HALF FULL. The reason for this is, the more fuel you have in your tank, the less air occupying its empty space. Petrol evaporates faster than you can imagine. Petroleum storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the petrol and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated, so that every litre is actually the exact amount.

ANOTHER REMINDER, IF THERE IS A FUEL TRUCK PUMPING INTO THE STORAGE TANKS, WHEN YOU STOP TO BUY, DO NOT FILL UP - most likely the petrol/diesel is being stirred up as the fuel is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom. Hope, this will help you get the maximum value for your money.

DO SHARE THESE TIPS WITH OTHERS! LET’S SHARE INFORMATION AND BENEFIT ALL, FOR THE BETTER OF MANKIND

'Massive op' to flush out Sabah's illegal immigrants?????

Latest news from the star online…

'Massive op' to flush out Sabah's illegal immigrants

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government will launch a "massive operation' against illegal immigrants in Sabah soon, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Wednesday.
He said all foreign nationals without identification documents issued by their own countries or by Malaysia's Immigration Department would be deported.
Speaking to reporters after chairing a Cabinet committee meeting on illegal immigrants in Sabah, he said he would meet with with Barisan Nasional leaders of the start before the operation gets under way.
The Deputy Prime Minister said the Government realised that illegal immigrants had become a serious problem and that the people in Sabah wanted it to be resolved effectively.

As a Sabahan myself, I am very grateful that the federal government shows some concern over this matter. Every genuine Sabahan knows how much we needed this kind of operation. There you go…. Our gov is our hero, they deserve a big hand from us…. *clap, *clap, *clap… lol…

Hmmmm… I wonder why I am not happy on the announcement made by the DPM moments ago. I did watch the news at Buletin 1.30 of TV3.

Deep down in my heart, I know that this is only an eyewash to regain the support of Sabahan, or in other words, they want the people to forget about the motion proposal by YTL. If I am not mistaken, the same government ever announced the same announcement few years back. I cannot recall the exact time, but one thing for sure is that they fail because I don’t think they sincere enough on the promises. Therefore, I don’t think they are sincere enough to tackle the problem this time either.

From my point of view, it is only an “OMONG KOSONG” and they don’t even discussed the matter.
That’s is why DPM said: “I would meet with Barisan Nasional leaders of the start before the operation gets under way”. It’s a delaying tactic. Let just wait and see whether the so-called “massive ops” exist or just another political gimmick. Maybe they will do 1 or two operations, which also can be doubtful.

Dear PM and DPM and cronies, once again I appeal to you, please be sincere and effective in handling the PATI issues. Please be specific and don’t just say ‘soon’. We have enough burdens on the fuel hike issues. We want guaranteed action on PATI.

p/s Sampai bila agaknya orang tulen Sabah terus menjadi penduduk asing di tempat sendiri. Teringat lagu ‘aku terasing di bumi sendiri’ yang sering disiarkan sebelum berita jam 8 malam di rtm1 dan rtm2 suatu ketika dahulu……T.T

MOGOK?? Message to the government......

“Petrol kiosks were jammed with motorists as panic-buying of fuel was seen throughout Sabah over rumours of petrol kiosks closing down for three days.
The panic was triggered by rumours that petrol kiosk will shut down from Wednesday because protesting kiosk dealers nationwide were demanding higher commissions following the recent fuel hike.
Officials from Shell Malaysia and the Sabah Petroleum Dealers Association stressed that there was no truth to the rumour, and urged people not to resort to panic buying.”

What was happened yesterday (24th June 2008) is a reminder to all, not only for Sabahan people but for all Malaysian. We are affected badly by the fuel hike. The message is so very clear: “The people are not as happy as 5 years ago. We are like the ‘jaga’ that always wait for any unwanted alarm. Goodbye to sleep tight and sweet dream.” I think we all know why. No doubt we are currently suffers due to majority of us have made the wrong decision during GE12. This issue suppose to be the wake-up call for our top leader and his co. although I definitely sure they realize what happen and still ‘experimenting’ to come out with best formula to cover their earlier ‘mistake’.

Being just an ordinary civilian of Malaysia, I put my whole trust to our current government to look after our welfare, and I’m sure most of us do. Unfortunately, as of today, more than 100 days after the GE, we have been suffers a lot due to (like what most people said) inefficiency and most obvious corrupted management team. Personally, I still think that BN is the most appropriate ‘management team’ for our country. But this team is jeopardized because of several people (not sure on the percentage tho’) who is not efficient and has below-par performance. To make thing worse, I believe these big percentage is unfortunately from higher rank people or maybe highest rank people.

There were lots of stuffs being circulated talking about how bad and corrupt our present government is. I keep on telling myself not to swallow everything but need to check and do research on the basis of the allegations made. I am not Pakatan Rakyat supporters. And I am not BN supporters either. My vote goes to the right individual that has shows his/her credibility and sincerity in serving the people. (Hard to find this kind of politician nowadays tho’). But our country is at alarming stage where we need changes. I admit as days pass by, I instill a little bit of hatred to our present government for the hardness and difficulties that faced by me everyday. Everyday seems to have something new and unwanted news. I am not really sure how I am going to change my lifestyle (as urge by the our government) for my current life is no style at all. Sabah is not a place where u can have big salary. Almost every night I will say to myself: What happen next?

Back to the incident which had happened yesterday, I am not pretty sure on the assurance given by the Dealer Association. We all know that most of us currently in pretty hard condition which includes the gas station owner (why huh?? Didn’t they gain a lot from the recent fuel hike?). First, they abolished credit cards usage in the pump. They want the
government to heed their call to raises up the commission. If, and only if, their call will not be attended, they might think out of the box. They (association) ever mentioned that they will strike for 8 hours on 26th June if the government continues to ignore or delay the call. If this thing happened, our country is in real trouble.

Dear Pak Lah and his co., look what you’ve done so far. As an ordinary civilian who has no professional views on how to manage a country, please do hear the people’s voices. The only thing that I can tell you is that we are suffering at the moment. I love Malaysia and I will always be. But, I don’t know whether I am still proud to be Malaysian.

MOGOK GAS STATION??? The truth is out there...

This is the news taken from the star online... well they said it is rumours... but everything might happen...

Rumours spark petrol panic in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: Petrol kiosks were jammed with motorists as panic-buying of fuel was seen throughout Sabah over rumours of petrol kiosks closing down for three days.

The panic was triggered by rumours that petrol kiosk will shut down from Wednesday because protesting kiosk dealers nationwide were demanding higher commissions following the recent fuel hike.

Officials from Shell Malaysia and the Sabah Petroleum Dealers Association stressed that there was no truth to the rumour, and urged people not to resort to panic buying.

"We were told that petrol kiosks were going to close for three days. I rushed from my office to fill my tank,” said motorist Abdul Rashmin Salleh, who said there were also rumours of further price hikes.

Despite being assured that there was no shutdown or fuel hikes, one motorist said that he was not taking the risk.

Most petrol kiosk and roads approaching them were jammed as people waited in long queues to get their tanks filled up; traffic in the city centre came to a standstill during the office rush hour.

In some areas like interior Keningau, queues were as long as 2km, while kiosks ran out of supply.

"Shell retail stations nationwide continue with normal operating hours,” a Sabah Shell spokesman said in a statement.

MOGOK???? GAS STATION???

Mogok??? Kenapa ya stesen minyak nak mogok??? Mereka nak naikkan harga minyak atau mereka nak minta kerajaan naikkan komisen mereka??? Bingung lar sa nak fakir cuz I don’t know how the mechanism goes from the supplier to the gas station?? Didn’t they gain more profit from the current fuel price hike???

If anyone of you out there has the answer, please do comment and tell us the real story. I am quite panic at the moment cuz i don’t think my fuel is sufficient for 2 days.

I heard, all gas station will closed their station starting from 4pm today (24/6/2008) for two days. Some says 3 days. And some says 1 week. OMG what the heck… what’s going on to my beloved country Malaysia???

Please…anybody out there…. Pls clarify to us.. we deserve to know what actually happen…….. This is not what I expect for Malaysia going towards Vision 2020.. it looks like we travel back to the past… Car is suppose to be something that helps us in achieving good and quality life… but now I guess it is a burden… my gosh!!!!

SAPP... Hero or another political gimmick???

Can't wait to see what will happen next... interesting...interesting... popcorn please...!!!

Personnaly, i wonder how sincere they are (SAPP) in this matter... or is it another political gimmick for personal interest???

SAPP's vote of no confidence against PM (Update 2) (news by the star online)
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) has lost confidence in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, it said at a press conference here Wednesday.
In the coming sitting of the Parliament session on Monday, its two Members of Parliament will support a vote of no confidence against the Prime Minister, the party said.
Whether its MPs table the vote of no confidence, or whether other MPs will do it, would be determined in due course, it said in a statement.
SAPP’s two MPs are Datuk Eric Enchin Majimbun (P171 Sepanggar) and Datuk Dr Chua Soon Bui (P190 Tawau).
The party also has four state representatives.
The statement was read out by Dr Chua and signed by Majimbun, who was overseas on official duties. He will be back for the Parliament sitting next Monday, June 23.
The statement listed four areas of dissatisfaction with Abdullah's premiership:
1) That no concrete action had been taken on the issue of illegal immigrants, despite repeated requests by SAPP and other Barisan component parties;
2) That the government had offered no holistic economic solutions to cushion the blow of the sudden hike in fuel prices, which had greatly burdened the people and threatened further hardcore poverty;
3) That not enough attention had been paid to issues raised by the people of Sabah -- poor delivery systems, corruption, wastage, lack of transparency and accountability -- and that SAPP would have failed in its duty as elected representatives if these issues continued to be ignored; and
4) That the people have lost confidence in Abdullah, and that if he can't perform, he should step aside and make way for another leader to take over.
Talk had been rife Wednesday morning that SAPP was going to abandon the Barisan Nasional coalition and defect to the Pakatan Rakyat alliance.
The party is running a poll on its blog, asking members of the public whether it should stay on in Barisan, leave the coalition but remain independent, or join Pakatan.
At press time, there were 2,828 votes tallied, with 85% (2,411 votes) asking SAPP to join Pakatan. Only 2% (80 votes) urged it to stay on with Barisan, while the remainder suggested it quit Barisan but remained unaligned.

From heroes to zeroes... from zeroes to "errmmmm"????

Another great article from my favorite blog...

By MOHSIN ABDULLAH, MySinchew
Coming home from work one evening, a man called his wife and children to gather for a family meeting. The objective: to draw up plans and course of action to be taken by all of them in view of the current high fuel prices. And everything else that has sky rocketed.

It’s time to adjust and change he told his family. Turning to his wife he told her to spend “wisely” at the market. “Cook enough for all of us and do not waste food,” he said sternly.

Turning to his children , he asked them to cut down on watching TV and playing computer, to save on electricity bills.

“Also if we are having dinner at the dining hall , switch off all the lights in other areas of the house.

“We have to take our meals at home. We can’t be eating out. No more high tea and buffet dinners at restaurants and hotels. Also we can’t go for holidays during the school breaks.”

He went on to say that they will have to use a smaller car. Also car pooling.
“I’m sorry, we have to tighten up our budget. We simply can’t afford lots of things.” His and wife and kids just nodded their heads in silent.

Then one of his children, (his youngest daughter) looked up and said: “But dad, that’s what’s we been doing all this while. Mum goes to the market and buy the cheapest goods possible. We eat low grade rice. We don’t watch TV or play computer much. Our house don’t have air con. We don’t use electricity much. We seldom eat out and it’s been years since we go for holidays. We have never been overseas. And we drive a Kancil. Isn’t that small enough already? So what’s there to change?" she asked.

The man stared at his daughter. He turned and looked at his wife and other children. Slowly he broke his silence: “I know. But that’s what I’ve been reading in the papers and hearing on TV and radio. Everyday they tell us to change our life style. I’m just repeating what they say.”

This story is just a figment of my imagination. But for all you know, it could very well be true. I let a friend of mine tread this piece before sending it to the editors at Sin Chew Daily. And he told me, if this article was meant as a joke, then it was not funny.

My reply to him was, it was not supposed to be funny. After all these are depressing times we’re in now. And that’s no joke.

Mohsin Abdullah is the Editor in Chief for News and Current Affairs of Ntv7 and 8TV

Fuel Price Hike May Derail Poverty Eradication Plans, Say Analysts

By Noor Hayati Muda, Bernama

The sharp increase in fuel prices can derail the government's target to wipe out abject poverty or reduce the number of the poor to 2.8 per cent from 3.6 per cent by 2010.

Economists believe the 41 per cent hike in petrol and 63.3 per cent in diesel prices in the wake of skyrocketing global oil price has somewhat "threw a curve ball" at the plan.

In April, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Amirsham A. Aziz had expressed confidence that the government would realise its goal to rid abject poverty despite the spiralling oil price in the world market.

The economists, however, were doubtful on the prospect, arguing that based on today's purchasing power, more Malaysians could slip into the poverty bracket, if not below.

Bank Islam Malaysia senior economist Azrul Azwar Ahmad Tajudin said the people's purchasing power had shrunk significantly following the revised fuel subsidy which saw petrol price rising by 78 sen and diesel RM1."As in previous occasions, higher fuel price means increase in prices for everything, from food to other necessities including services.

"For the poor, the recent fuel price hike comes as a double whammy of sort. For the past one year, they have been struggling to make ends meet with the rising food costs. Now they are hit once more with more expensive fuel while there is zero growth in their income," he said.

Categorising people with monthly household earnings below RM1,500 as poor, Azrul Azwar pointed out that those spending between 40 and 50 per cent of their income for food had to stretch it thinner for other necessities.

"Even though we may not see a drastic jump in statistics, based on that simple calculation we can see more will fall figuratively into the poor category. What more with those earning below the poverty line of RM691," he said.

Azrul Azwar opined that the current method of classifying the poor did not reflect reality and should be revisited.

"I don't think the current poverty line income is relevant anymore as today's cost of living is getting higher by the day. To me, it should be much higher, maybe around RM1,500," he said.

Based on the 2005 calculation, poverty line for the whole nation is RM691, while for the peninsula is RM661, Sabah (RM888) and Sarawak (RM765). The figures are based on a family of five.

To ease the burden of this segment of the population, Azrul Azwar suggested the government allocate part of the RM2 billion saved from the austerity measures for the poor.

"Monetary aid is not necessary. Instead, the government can identify this group of people, who in my opinion, are badly affected, and give them handouts in kind," he said.

Nevertheless, he said, the government was currently moving in the right path in easing the people's burden.

Alliance Investment Bank vice-president for institutional sales, Shahrul Kamal Ramli, concurring with Azrul Azwar's view that more Malaysians would fall within the poverty bracket, said Malaysians should benefit from the riches of government-linked-companies (GLCs) they were now enjoying.

Describing consumers as "small players" in a big consortium, that is the country, Shahrul Kamal said akin to shareholders in listed companies, the people too should be paid dividends based on the companies' profits.

"What I have in mind is GLCs which are mostly owned either wholly or partly by the government such as Petronas and Tenaga (Tenaga Nasional Bhd) should give out cash bonuses to the people. "Do you know in Singapore, the government pays bonuses to the people?. Last year, every Singaporean received around S$700 or RM1,800," he said.

Rationalising his suggestion, Shahrul Kamal said although the price increase of 78 sen per litre for petrol and RM1 for diesel affected the masses from all walks of life, the poor suffered the most.

"Look at it this way...one has RM1 and the other has RM100. Forking out 20 sen more for the one with RM100 is nothing much compared with the one with RM1," he said.

He said cash given out in lieu of fuel subsidy would not benefit all the deserving people as only those who owned vehicles were eligible.

"What about those who do not own a vehicle and rely solely on public transport. They are not eligible for the rebate whereas the hike in fuel prices has multiple effects and this group of people will also feel the crunch because prices of everything will increase as well," he said.

He said the government should consider a better way to help this target group.Shahrul Kamal also questioned the effectiveness of some measures such as the use of fleet card which he believed could be abused.

He believed the government could still provide a "comfortable" subsidised fuel for the people if the quantum of Petronas' profits allocated for subsidy was based on the global market price.

"At the moment, the government has not explained the formula in calculating the percentage given by Petronas from its profits. They just tell us the total amount."In this case, I suggest maybe the government can consider using a quantum based on the market price. Let's say, if it's US$40 per barrel, maybe Petronas should pay 40 per cent and if it's above US$80, they pay 75 per cent."I believe if this is done accordingly, the people can still enjoy comfortable fuel prices," he said.

Despite their hardship, Shahrul Kamal said the people should not blame the government for today's predicament as the global oil price was beyond control and had shot up to unprecedented level.

"Oil prices are at its highest ever and this, among others, stemmed from the increase in demand from the emergence of new economies such as China and India. But bear in mind, there are other factors as well, including the higher cost of oil exploration," he said.

He, however, lamented the fact that the government had not explained in layman's terms the reasons for the fuel price hike.

"The government should call the right people to listen to it and let them disseminate the information to the people in layman's terms," he said.

Former Universiti Malaya dean of arts and social science faculty Prof Datuk Dr Zainal Kling said any assistance rendered should centre on three aspects, namely food, transportation and services such as health.

"These three aspects are vital for the poor as they need them for survival. Therefore, the government should come up with ways to ensure the target groups receive direct benefit," he said.

"These three aspects are vital for the poor as they need them for survival. Therefore, the government should come up with ways to ensure the target groups received direct benefit," he said.

Zainal said it was not the government's doing that Malaysians were now facing hardship."We have been living in luxury for years and only now we are facing slight difficulties. Yet, the government did not abandon us and is doing its best to ease our burden," he added.

(An article from the Malaysia-today.net)

I wonder how many of us really understand the consequences of this matter. scary and spooky.. )

OIL, OIL and OIL

Tun Dr. Mahathir, former Prime Minister of Malaysia has been my Idol since I was a very young boy. He has inspired me to face anything that comes in my life. The way he handled problems and obstacles was always unique but proven to be effective. I love this man.. Sir, I am happy to have you as our leader. Please continue to fight for our right. Malaysian, please listen to him. Reflect all his words of wisdom.

Oil Price (By Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad)
The price of crude oil has increased by 400 percent in the last three years. It follows that the price of products must increase, sooner or later. In other countries petrol prices had already increased. In the United Kingdom one litre of petrol sells for more than one pound sterling or RM7. In the United States it is about RM5.

That the price in neighbouring countries has gone up is shown by the rush to fill up by Thai and to a lesser extent Singapore vehicles.

The Government has now announced an increase in petrol price by 78 sen to RM2.70 per litre, an increase of more than 40 per cent.

I may be mistaken but there seems to be less vehicles on the road today. But obviously that is not all that will happen. All other consumer goods, services and luxury goods would increase in price.The cost of living must go up. Put another way there will be inflation and the standard of living will go down.

Obviously our increase in petrol price is far less than in the United Kingdom or the United States. But our per capita income is about one-third of theirs. In purchasing power terms our increase is more than in the UK or the US.The increase hurts but the pain is greater not just because of the increase percentage-wise is higher than in developed countries but because of the manner the increase is 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.

Reader, please click here to read more articles form our true champion.

Something need to be shared to all Malaysian

Again the article below is something that all Malaysian should read and reflect on our future.
Thank you Malaysia-Today.net for giving us a lot of information that's worth to shared with.
Please click here to go to the website.

By LIM MUN FAH, SIN CHEW DAILY

What could the government do as the people are suffering from prices hikes?

It was reported that other than the federal government, state governments would also cut down expenditure. The whole country is now in the mood of saving money.

The practice of official extravagance has not been a secret for a long time. And now, it would be good if all government officers could follow the recent instruction to reduce expenditures. However, time has changed and the good old days are gone. As the country is now caught in the economic depression and that makes the people suffer, how could it help much only by reducing expenditures?

Don’t our leaders always say Malaysia is a paradise?

This paradise used to be the world's largest producer of rubber, tin, palm oil and pineapple. And our leaders used to be proud of the industrialization success. But such glorious days are gone.

Today, there is a dark cloud over the paradise. However, the paradise still has petroleum fields that brought a pre-tax profit of as high as RM86.8 billion to Petronas last year and the surge of international oil prices will definitely help its profits to substantially grow. However, as the international oil prices index keeps surging, the index of the people's happiness keeps falling.

By today's predicament, could we still catch up with the United States and other Europe countries? Could we still achieve the 2020 Vision?

It has nothing wrong to reduce expenditure as a response to the current economic crisis, but the problem is, how much money could we save? How could this contribute to the people's livelihood and the national treasury?

In fact, the people do not care about how many cups of tea the government officers drink, whether they are sitting in the economy or business class when they are flying abroad and whether they are riding in old or new cars. The people are more concerned about whether the government is working hard, whether it is efficient, whether it has the capacity to rule the country and whether it is serving the people and implementing policies to develop and enrich the country.

A trustworthy and good government should know how to reduce expenditure and at the same time, it should find new ways to raise revenue and create wealth for the people! (Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE)

I love this story.... reflection...

This story i read from malaysia-today

Suffer the children ... of some

Posted by St Low

Thursday, 12 June 2008

Without exotic foreign holidays, life will no longer be the same. The sun was setting as the Proton Perdana crunched up the gravel driveway of the bungalow on Jalan Kia Peng. The man sitting in the back seat was oblivious to the gentle glow of dusk that bathed the large well-manicured gardens. His heart felt heavy and his stomach was knotted. He was going to break their hearts and there was no way out. “We are here, sir.” The voice of the driver shook him out of his deep thoughts. With a barely audible grunt of thanks, he stepped out and with leaden feet walked towards the door. Before he reached it, the huge oak edifices swung open. A small woman in a blue uniform retrieved his suitcase and collected his shoes as he slipped them off. He hardly noticed her, either. From within the house, there were sounds of a loud X Box game in progress and young children shouting. The man walked into the living room. Expensive Italian furniture was arranged around a 40-inch plasma TV, its sleek modernity a stark contrast to the gaudiness of the sofas and armchairs. A boy and a girl were transfixed by the screen, watching monsters get beheaded. A woman lounged in an armchair, her diamonds glittering. “Listen, everybody, I must speak to you,” said the man. “Not now, Papa, we are reaching level five,” said the boy. “No, now,” said the man. The sombre tone of his voice cut through the shrill screams from the video game. The children and the woman looked to the man, their normal indifference suddenly replaced by unfamiliar concern. Seating himself, the man leaned on his elbows and stared at the floor. In a voice quivering with barely suppressed emotion, he started to speak. “Darling, children, I am afraid we can’t go to Orlando Disneyland this year.” “Where are we going then?” asked the girl. “England? Europe?” “We can only go to somewhere in Asean.” The gasps from the family just about drowned out the crack in his voice as he finished his sentence. Then the barrage of questions started. Why? What happened? How can this be? As the voices rose to a crescendo, the man snapped, tears running down his face as he screamed, “The oil price has gone up and we can’t go on holidays around the world any more!” “But, darling,” said the woman, “I already told the girls I would bring back for them oranges from Florida. How can I face them in Carcosa at our high tea tomorrow?” “Papa, you promised Disneyland. I hate you! I hate you!” shrieked the boy as he stormed out of the room. “Wait, boy!” he called out. “You must try to understand. The whole nation is suffering. We must make sacrifices. It is for the good of the country and for the future.” But it was too late; the boy had already disappeared into his bedroom. Soon, the sound of heavy rap played at full volume could be heard. “Oh, darling. Think about the children. How are they going to face their friends at the international school? Where are we going to go on holiday?” The man wiped away his tears of frustration and held his head as he thought of what to say. Suddenly, he looked up and with a smile bordering on the maniacal, he said: “What about Singapore? Or we can even go local. Let’s go to A Famosa in Malacca. It’s fun, they have a theme park and an animal and cowboy show. Malaysia Truly Asia! Heh heh heh ...” His laugh petered out as the girl and the woman stared at him icily, slicing through his forced jollity. For the longest while, nothing was said. Then the rap music abruptly stopped. The three looked up as the boy walked back to them. “I understand sacrifice, Papa. And I think I have the solution,” he said. The family stared at him, hope shining in their eyes. “We can all go to Hong Kong Disneyland!” he exclaimed excitedly. The man broke down again and buried his face in his hands. Between his gasping sobs, he cried, “Oh, my son, my poor, poor boy. Don’t you know? Hong Kong is not in Asean.” “Arrrgghhh!” the boy screamed and ran back to his room, wailing, “I hate you! I hate my life! I want to die!” The girl, unable to bear the pain any longer, stood up. She loomed over the broken shell that was her father and said, “I know we all have to suffer because of the oil price, Papa. But why do WE have to suffer SO MUCH?” Then she too stalked away. The man stared into the middle distance. His pain was almost too much to endure. The only sound in the room was the clinking of his wife’s diamonds as her bosom heaved with racking sobs. It barely smothered the sound of his shattering heart, for without their exotic foreign holidays, life would never be the same again. BRAVE NEW WORLD By AZMI SHAROM - The Star

Benarkah minyak ESSO lebih jimat berbanding Petronas dan Shell???

Sekarang, mana-mana dan siapa-siapa pun pasti sibuk dan hangat bercerita mengenai kenaikan harga minyak baru-baru ini… omg I am exhausted and bingung pikir perkara-perkara sebegini… tambah banyak gugur lar rambut and cepatlah botak kepala aku nanti.. mujur ada “Prohair” yang boleh didapati di Guardian dan Watson.. heheh (sempat bagi free promotion walaupun I will and never will gain anything..)

Before I go any further let me just admit that I have no knowledge and no professional education on ‘fuel and its grade’ and the world of economy although I did learned about economy during my undergraduates studies. So, I am giving my opinion and maybe disgruntle opinion (a little bit of emo… hehehe) on this matter… as a customer and ordinary Malaysian…

Sebelum ni belum pernah gaknya isi minyak kat esso.. selalunya Shell.. based on my own experience, I think I can save more money using Shell… Sebelum harga minyak naik, aku guna RM35 untuk 5 hari pergi dan balik keja jika guna Shell.. tapi kalu guna Petronas lak I have to spent up to RM40 for same duration and route and distance.. But in term of performance, I think petronas taking care of my car engine rather than Shell…. Shell, bau sedikit and noisy juga… but since nak berjimat terpaksa guna Shell…

Now I have to agree with the Government to change our lifestyles (but disagree of course on the fuel hike..huhuhu)..Now I am really in the dilemma… some say that we have to change our fuel to Esso cuz it will guarantee longer distance for same price of fuel in Shell or Petronas… BUTTTTTT the only drawback is of course it will effect our car engine… how true is that???? Gosh, mampus aku nak fikir benda ni… tukar?? Tak tukar?? Tukar?? Tak tukar???

According to one good resource... Minyak Esso lebih pekat berbanding minyak lain dan kurang pembakarannya so lebih jauh kita leh pigi.. or in other words, lebih jimat… (kerana di Esso Mobil, kami juga pemandu seperti anda…hahahah)… Petronas pla paling halus dan melancarkan perjalanan anda dan menjaga enjin anda dengan baik.. ianya juga melancarkan pengeluaran wang anda dari poket… heheheeh… Shell pla I think must be in the middle.. so now I getting even confuse.. Quality vs Saving???? Takut pla nak terlalu berjimat on fuel tapi in the long run kena belanja beribu-ribu ringgit kerna enjin rosak..kwang-kwang-kwang…

Parking Fees at Central Plaza, Kepayan???? You are kidding.....

Omg.. i was so suprised when i went to central plaza, kepayan ridge on 2nd June... Well everyone who lives in that area knows how unattractive the place is... business in that area is not as good as expected.

personally, i think the only reason people will go there is because of the Giant Supermarket which located at the ground floor of the complex. I think the area is quite strategic but i do not know why it can't be as successful as it should be... what went wrong huhh???

to make things worse, now the management (sa pun tidak tau apa nama), suddenly imposed this crazy parking fees.. RM1 per entry..... you must be kidding rite?

lets face it.. it is unpractical and insignificance to impose that silly fees... now i will say that the managment making thing worse and probably will make all the businesses there to tutup kedai... giant will suffer...

from what i heard, (dari sumber yang kunun boleh dipercayai)... the management desperately imposing and taking this action due to "rugi cuz tiada nak sewa lot kedai..."... but mind you, by doing that it will make thing even worse...

Based on my observation, normally people from work will singgah there to buy things at giant and ada juga yang pick up somebody whose working there... so by imposing that feessssssss..... people will tend to singgah at CKS millenium or even servay penampang which...which offer better service with NO PARKING or ENTRANCE FEE...

Imagine, someone pick up his wife who is working there every evening... he will need to put aside RM20 per month (RM1 x 5 days x 4 weeks) just passing by cuz to take his wife.... or sum1 may need to spend RM1 per entry just to buy maggi, which took only 2 mins... omg...

TO the management of that complex, please reconsider your 'parking fees'.... or maybe u can restructured ur fees say for example, free for the first 15 mins.....

i will get some photo for this later on.. please check and do leave some comments...