Price of Petrol in Malaysia has been increased 41%

With immediate effect from 12 midnight (or early morning) of 5th June, the government raised the price of unleaded petrol from RM1.92 per liter to RM2.70 per liter. The outcry in electronic media would have been deafening if it could have been heard.

I was in Port Dickson with my family, enjoying the sea and sun for a few days. That evening when the announcement was made, all hell broke loose. EVERY SINGLE petrol station in PD had queues ranging from at least 1km to a few km. In at least one petrol station in PD, the police had to be called in to maintain a semblance or order as everyone rushed to fill up their vehicles before the price increase became effective at the stroke of midnight.

I heard that the scene in Kuala Lumpur and almost every part of the country were just as bad.

Now that the price of petrol has been increased, there are various opinions on how to conserve petrol consumption, including the use of bicycles and motor cycles.

Imagine this - in China, in the early 90s, most parts of the country and cities had bicycle jams. Motor cycles were few and cars even rarer on the roads. Today, China has progressed to the point that vehicular jams are common , especially in the urban towns and cities.

Malaysia is going to see a reverse of that happening. We will end up with more jams caused by motor cycles and bicycles soon.

And the powers that be says we are progressing!!

Some of my favorite blogs on this issue
http://www.fireangelism.com/2008/06/06/you-change-your-lifestyle-first-lah/
http://cyusof.blogspot.com/2008/06/double-whammy.html
http://anilnetto.com/accountability/its-a-jungle-out-there-oil-price-hike-madness/

Fire Angel takes the cake for unbridled, upfront, indignant rant liberally littered with expletives deleted. I iknow that most people share the same feelings, myself included.