Read and make your own conclusions

Please read below an email sent to me for what ever it's worth. Hmm.... Sounds convincing to me! But then again, maybe some of you out there know better. Kindly enlighten me if the statements below are true.

Cheers,

M V Nathan

WHAT IS NEVER MENTIONED IN Mainstream Media like NST/TheStar/Utusan/BH arethese facts....Malaysian PerCapita Income USD 5000VSSingaporean PerCapita Income USD 25000Further The Star made a comparison of prices in Thailand , Singapore and Indonesia .For Thailand it is quoted at RM3.90/liter, however are they aware that inThailand new cars are cheaper than Malaysia by RM10,000? They pay only onelife time for their driving license? No renewal fee after that? Also thatgoes for road tax as well? And do TheStar also aware that you can drive allthe way from Hadtyai to Bangkok on a six lane highway without paying anyTolls ??!!Whereas here in Malaysia you have to pay yearly renewal for road tax ,driving license and TOLLS, TOLLS, TOLLS!!!For Singapore how can you quote RM 5.20 ? Please quote in Singapore Dollarsbecause they are earning in Sing Dollars. You might as well say Europeansare paying RM10/liter. RM5.20/liter = Sing $ 2.20/liter, still cheaper thanMalaysia in view of fact that Singapore is not a crude oil exporter. Areyou saying that you fill up petrol in Singapore by paying Ringgit?In economy, dollar to dollar must be compared as apple to apple. Notcomparing like durian in M'sia is much cheaper than durian in Japan !! Ofcourse-lah, Japan is not durian producer!!! Comparing Malaysian durian withThailand durian make more sense!!For Indonesia we might say is cheaper there at RM2.07/liter but comparethat to their level of income!Now, let us compare the price with OIL PRODUCING countries:UAE – RM1.19/litreEygpt – RM1.03/litreBahrain – RM0.87/litreQatar – RM0.68/litreKuwait – RM0.67/litreSaudi Arabia – RM0.38/litreIran – RM0.35/litreNigeria – RM0.32/litreTurkmenistan – RM0.25/litreVenezuela – RM0.16/litreMALAYSIA – RM2.70/litreRM 2.70!!! Individual perspective:As of last month a Toyota Vios would 'cause a damage' of about RM 89,000.In the international market, a Toyota Vios is about USD 19,000USD 19,000 = RM 62,700 (using the indicative rates of USD 1 = RM 3.30)That makes Malaysian Vios owners pay an extra RM 26,300.This RM 26,300 should be cost of operations, profit and tax because thetransportation costs have been factored in to the USD 19,000.RM 26,300/ RM625 petrol rebate per year translates to a Vios being used for42.08 years.I do understand that the RM 625 is a rebate given by the government, but italso means that one has to use the Vios for 42.08 years just to make backthe amount paid in taxes for the usage of a foreign car. Would anyone useany kind of car for that long?Now with these numbers in front of us, does the subsidy sound like asubsidy or does it sound like a penalty? This just seems to be a heavyincrement in our daily cost of living as we are not only charged with highcar taxes but also with a drastic increase in fuel price.With all the numbers listed out, I urge all Malaysians to join me inanalyzing the situation further.Car taxation is government profit, fuel sales is Petronas' (GLC) profitwhich also translates into government profit. The government may ridiculeus Malaysians by saying look at the world market and fuel price world wide.Please, we are Malaysians, we fought of the British, had a internationalport in the early centuries (Malacca), home to a racially mixed nation andWE ARE NOT STUPID!!!We know the international rates are above the USD 130/barrel. We understandthe fact that the fuel prices are increasing worldwide and we also knowthat major scientist are still contradicting on why this phenomenon ishappening. Some blame Bush and his plunders around the world and some blameclimate change and there are others which say petroleum 'wells' are gettingscarce.Again we go back to numbers to be more straight fwd1 barrel = 159 liters x RM2.70/liter = RM 429 or USD 134On 1 hand, we are paying the full cost of 1 barrel of crude oil with RM2.70per liter but on the other hand the crude oil only produces 46% of fuel.Msia sells crude oil per barrel at USD130 buys back Fuel per barrel atUSD134. And not forgetting, every barrel of fuel is produced with 2 barrelsof crude oil.1 barrel crude oil = produce 46% fuel (or half of crude oil), therefore2 barrel crude oil = approximately 1 barrel fuelIn other words, each time we sell 2 barrels of crude oil, equivalently wewill buy back 1 barrel of fuel.Financially,Malaysia sell 2 barrel crude oil @ USD 130/barrel = USD 260 = RM 858then, Malaysia will buy back fuel @ USD 134/barrel = RM 442/barrelThus, Malaysia earn net extra USD 126 = RM 416 for each 2 barrel of crudesold/exported vs imported 1 barrel of fuel !!!(USD 260-134 = USD 126 = RM416)So where this extra USD 126/barrel income is channeled to by MalaysianGovt?????????Another analysis:1 barrel crude oil = 159 liters.46-47% of a barrel of crude oil = fuel that we use in our vehicles.46% of 159 = 73.14 liters.@ RM 2.70/liter x 73.14 liter = RM197.48 of fuel per barrel of crude oil.This is only 46% of the barrel, mind you. Using RM 3.30 = USD 1, we getthat a barrel of crude oil produces USD 59.84 worth of petrol fuel (46% of1barrel).USD 59.84 of USD 130/barrel turns out to be 46% of a barrel as well.Another 54% = bitumen, kerosene, and natural gases and so many more.And this makes a balance of USD 70.16 that has not been accounted for.So this is where I got curious. Where is the subsidy if we are paying 46%of the price of a barrel of crude oil when the production of petrol/barrelof crude oil is still only 46%?In actual fact, we still pay for this as they are charged in the forms offuel surcharge by airlines and road taxes for the building of road (becausethey use the tar/bitumen) and many more excuse charging us but let us justleave all that out of our calculations.As far as I know, only the politicians who live in Putrajaya and come fortheir Parliament meetings in Kuala Lumpur (approximately 60+ km) are theones to gain as they claim their fuel and toll charges from the money ofthe RAKYAT's TAX.It is so disappointing to see this happen time and time again to theMalaysian public, where they are deceived by the propaganda held by thepoliticians and the controls they have over the press.Which stupid idiot economist equates rebates for rich or poor with the ccof the vehicles? An average office clerk may own a second hand 1300ccproton Iswara costing $7,000 (rebate = $625) while the Datuk's children canown a fleet of 10 new cars of BMW, Audi and Volvo all less than 2000cccosting $2 millions and get a total rebate of $625 x 10 = $6,250! Wow whatkind of economists we are keeping in Malaysia ...wonder which phDcertificate that they bought from...Misleading concept of Subsidy:The word "subsidy" has been brandished by the BN government as if it has sogenerously helped the rakyat and in doing so incurred losses. This simpleexample will help to explain the fallacy:Example:Ahmad is a fisherman. He sells a fish to you at $10 which is below themarket value of $15. Let's assume that he caught the fish from theabundance of the sea at little or no cost. Ahmad claims that since themarket value of the fish is $15 and he sold you the fish for $10, he hadsubsidised you $5 and therefore made a loss of $5.Question : Did Ahmad actually make a profit of $10 or loss of $5 which heclaimed is the subsidy?Answer:Ahmad makes a profit of $10 which is the difference of the selling price($10) minus the cost price ($0 since the fish was caught from the abundanceof the sea). There is no subsidy as claimed by Ahmad.The BN government claims that it is a subsidy because the oil is kept andtreated as somebody else's property (you know who). By right, the oilbelongs to all citizens of the country and the government is a trustee forthe citizens. So as in the above simple example, the BN government cannotclaim that it has subsidised the citizen!