For people's own good

For people’s own good, is it?

 ‘ Sugar subsidy cut for people’s own good’

“The reduction of 20 sen per kilogramme in sugar subsidy is not to burden the people but done for their own good, ” says Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Deputy Minister Datuk Tan Lian Hoe. 

          “When the subsidy is reduced and the price goes up, people will consume less sugar and practise a healthy lifestyle including eating a healthy diet,” she told reporters at the parliament lobby, here yesterday.

          PM Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak when tabling the 2013 Budget in the Dewan Rakyat on Sept 28 announced the sugar subsidy reduction which took into consideration that 2.6 million Malaysians are diabetic.

          Tan, however, said the sugar subsidy reduction should be no excuse for traders and operators of eateries to increase prices of goods.

          She said errant traders could face legal action under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2010 for indiscriminately raising prices.

          Under the Act, errant companies can be fined up to RM500,000 or ordered to pay a compound fine not exceeding RM250,000 which individuals can be fined up to RM100,000or face a jail term of up to 3 years or both, or face a compound fine of up to RM50,000.

          Tan said the public could act as the ‘eyes and ears’ of the government by monitoring prices of goods following reduced sugar subsidy and reporting to the ministry on irrelevant  price increase for appropriate action to be taken.

          According to the records, sugar as a controlled item had before this, undergone price increase four times since Jan 1, 2010, by 20 sen per kg, 25 sen since July 18, 2012, 20 sen (Dec 4, 2011), bringing the retail price to RM2.30 per kg until now.  (The Borneo Post, Wednesday October 3, 2012 Home)

          This is the whole article I type from the newspaper because I want to share with everybody the details.  It is exactly what is reported and I find this issue very interesting and challenging, too.  Sugar is an item that many people like my family do not use much.  Besides, my family only uses brown or cane sugar.  So and so, we are not affected as far as this item is concerned.  But it is considered an important item to those who use heavily in various foods or drinks in the busineses.  A price hike of 20 sen a kilo to make the retail price to reach RM2.30 per kilo no doubt will become a load to those who use a lot.  That is what is said, “Sikit, sikit jadi bukit.” 

It is what we believe that the price hike of 20 sen can bring a huge amount of money (a lot of profit) to the sugar manufacturers and increase the revenue of the government to a great extent.  The BN government led by Najib need this money to spare in BR1M in different ways to please people for their support.  Hence they need to hike the price of sugar to cover the expenses though they  are always self- deceivingly telling us, people that it is all for our own good.  This is our belief no matter how nice and sweet Tan Lian Hoe howls it is for people’s own good, not for their own gain.  We know it is their tactics and gimmick to win the hearts of the people when the 13^th general election is just imminent.  Almost every BN political thugs pow-bows and hows like a hound (paʊˈbaʊ and ˈhaʊ like a haʊnd) the help from the government is not to fish votes.  But who believes that it is not?

Do the BN government led by Najib really care for people?  Now let’s look at the prices of the houses of different types all around us.  Please be my eyes to investigate the houses and shop-houses around.  Are these buildings in right measurements and qualified for the prices they command?  Check the measurement of your houses and shop-houses.  Are the houses and shop-houses having the right measurements fitted for living and operating businesses respectively?  Who cares for our own good in this respect?  Houses one of the 4 basic needs in life are many times more important than sugar, right? 

Our BN Prime Ministers (from Tunku Abdul Rahman), Sultans, heads of the state, Chief Ministers, Ministers and those high ranking officers ………since time immemorial have never cared to find out whether the houses are built with right measurements and the municipal councils in different localities and districts always check and double-check the measurements of the houses and shop-houses in reality and in practice.  Are they just looking at the building plans   and signing the documents on the table blindly and getting the money under the table?  Swear on the holy book, be it Quran or Bible to say that there have never been such things!

Time is here now when people by troops and herds and flocks and swarms have awakened to the abuses of our political thugs.  For our micro and macro-environments, we know whom to curse and blame for our hardship and difficulties.  For the houses with restricted space / room, we should blame and curse our abusive political thugs for signing the approval and permits so lightly and blindly without due consideration for us, people.  They have failed to guard our interests like they guard sugar.  Our government have Price Control Act and Anti-Profiteering Act to protect such a small, small item.  Are these Acts applicable to big, big things like houses and shop-houses?  

They only care about their own interests in the process of giving permits.  It is our general belief the BN political thugs, like Najib, Taib Mahmud and the cronies are paid the money on the table and under for the permits of any kind.  I hope Sibu BN political thugs like Wong Soon Koh, Tiong Thai King,..……. will stand out to refute for himself and  his other accomplices Taib Mahmud, James Masing, Jabu…….. not gaining a lump sum of money in the process of giving permits’ businesses of any kind.

          I don’t know what the right measurements of my house on the plan when the developer got the approval to build the houses.  And I don’t know whether SMC (Sibu Municipal Council headed by late Robert Lau then) had the officers to check the measurements of  these houses before giving the permits of occupation.  Otherwise, I don’t think the odd measurements my sitting room 21’8”  X 25’ 4” and my kitchen 9’4” X 13’10” (not 12’ as stated earlier) would take place.  What are the standard measurements for the sitting room and kitchen as well as rooms for the houses be there semi-detached or terraced?  Who was the minister of local government and community development then?  I wonder they have the standard measurements for houses now?  We have elected these ministers to represent us to guard our interests but they are more concerned with their own gains and the developers’ interests. 

          Now I think we people should wake up and demand the right standard of measurements for our houses.  We have the rights to demand for the minimum measurements of 25’ wide X 30’ long X 11’ high for the sitting room and 15’ wide X 20’ long X 11’ high for the kitchen and 15’ wide X 20’ long X 11’ high for the master room.  The other rooms set the standard at 15’ wide X 15’ long  X 11 high.  With these measurements, I don’t think anyone in Sibu / elsewhere will think of using hard earned money for extension and face up the risk of being sued. 

          For the single-storey, low-cost housing, give them the right measurements of sitting room, kitchen and rooms, too.  Set the standard 20’ wide X 25’ long and 12’ high for the sitting  room; 15’ wide X 20’ for the kitchen; 15’ X 15’ for the rooms.

          It is time to calculate the cost of bricks, cement, and lists of other sanitary facilities that are required to be installed and labour cost in details for each house to count the cost and profit seriously.  I think our government should exercise Price Control Act and Anti-profiteering Act on the house developers who often earn more than 100 – 200 % like Sesco in Sarawak or elsewhere.  These companies always plunder and exploit people.  People are aware of these but we are looking forward for a new system of government to resolve all these menaces for our own good. 

We can’t expect the BN government to provide these benefits and good services though they pow-bow and howl so much like  hounds.  But we don’t believe anymore after 55years Federal supremacy and 49 years in Federation.   Taib Mahmud 34 years as chief minister of Sarawak and his cronies only exploit and plunder us, people all the time.  He and his cronies are going to turn Sarawak into a place full of dams to damn us.  Who can stop them now to go ahead with the projects to pollute our environment?  We people want change of government for good and for sure.