The recent reactions in Malaysia to the fuel hikes was…disappointing for me, to say the least. I had hoped that the previous year’s fuel hike would have thought Malaysians a thing or two about energy, fuel and consumption globally. I guess not.

So I did what was naturally – I wrote to the papers. It is one of the longest letters I have written so I don’t know if they’ll cut it or even publish it. O’well…

I read with interest the many articles relating to the reactions to the recent fuel and electricity hikes in Malaysia. I used to think that the fuel hike was a joke, that I was a suffering middle-class worker, and that we as a producer of oil should not have to deal with increases but I was wrong in many ways.

Over the years, the demand for oil and natural gas (read: consumption) has increased more than twofold. In 1965, the world consumption hit 31,240 barrels daily (refer to this website for more details – ). In 2006, globally, we consume 83,719 barrels daily. Compare this with the oil production of 31,802 barrels daily in 1965 to 81,663 barrels daily in 2006.

It is very clear, we consume more than we can produce. The increase in fuel prices is and was inevitable. Oil is not a commodity that lasts forever. It is only a matter of time before we see a drop in production and before our natural resources run out. Do we want to wait till then to do something about it?

Isn’t it time we stop whining and complaining about how unfair life is treating us and do some serious soul searching about our lifestyle and how we approach fuel & energy consumption?

For those of us who complain that “fuel is expensive, electricity rates are crazy, and because of that, we are suffering”, ask yourselves this:

…is your car fuel efficient?
…do you eat out all the time at moderate to expensive places?
…do you waste energy by leaving the lights on all day long, turning your air-conditioning on to its maximum capacity for hours on end, buy non-energy efficient appliances?
…have you considered car pooling or public transport?
…have you spoken to your employers about getting fair pay and fair benefits?
…do you patronize unethical business owners and hawker stalls?
…have you demand that your government expand their budget to include research and development on alternative fuel and sustainable energy sources?
…do you drive even though you can walk?

To those who say that people living abroad are not affected by this, think again. Yes, cars here may be cheaper in Europe but in the long run, I pay more for fuel, maintenance, tax, insurance, toll charges, and parking than any Malaysian ever will in Malaysia. It can cost up to 100 CHF just to get someone to change the oil for my car, and 500 CHF per month for just for parking my car in front of my house. Recently, my trip to Marseille (South France) cost me nearly 150 euroes of fuel for 500 km. So what do people here do about that? They only use a car when it’s necessary! I don’t even own a car for that matter because it’s simply better to not have one. If we really need one, we borrow from my hubby’s relatives. Public transport is the way to go here – buses, trains, trams, and even ferries. Either that or I walk which I did precious little in Malaysia because I was like everyone else; “it’s simply faster to drive”. It isn’t and it’s a waste of fuel.

Yes, public transportation in Malaysia is horrid, to say the least in comparison to the Swiss network. But understand that Malaysian public transportation is mostly privatised and thus relies on profit & demand to make improvements to the system, service as well as network. If the people avoid using public transportation and demand that the Government step in and pump money into public transportation, then why privatize it in the first place? Wouldn’t it be better if the Government took back everything? Even then, are we going to encourage the whole “the Government will bail you out if you’re not making a profit” attitude among service providers?

Also, once that is done, how many of us do take the public transport to work every day? For those who complain that it’s still not doing anything to improve it – they expect timetables, better routes and networks, punctuality – I have a little tidbit for you. Rome was not built in one day. Instead, choose to direct your complaints to the right people and while you’re at it, give some suggestions to improve the system. Don’t just complaint. Be patient and bear with it. The Swiss train network wasn’t always at its best. But like everything else, it had to start from somewhere.

As for increase in other items now that fuel has gone up, well, I think it’s a blessing in disguise. Instead of eating out and the whole famous mamak culture we are known for – which is rather unhealthy given the high fat, high salt, high sugar “goodies” that they afford – Malaysians can now opt, with real reason, to eat at home more often. This gives them a chance to cook healthier meals (if not learn how to cook) and spend more bonding time with the family as well as friends. If you think I’m advocating 100% eat at home, no, I don’t mean that. You can still eat out, just don’t do it so often and be more selective. If the hawker stall owner is charging you an arm and a leg for a bowl of noodles with nothing, then why are you even going to that hawker stall?

And no, being abroad, I do not have it easier. Dollar to dollar, I pay about 50 to 90 CHF per kilo of meat, 15 to 30 CHF per kilo of vegetables and fruits, and 20 to 40 CHF per kilo of dairy goods. Eating out for two people can cost between 16 to 30 CHF (more if we decide to go to a posh restaurant which we haven’t). All this on one person’s income. So yes, the fuel increase globally affects me as well. Rice here costs just as much as pasta and in general, everything has gone up but we deal with it and cut costs wherever we can. If you want to talk about who is affected most by this fuel hike, speak to the poor and those in the lower echelons of society.

At the end of the day, what I really want to know is this:

- What are you going to do about it as a citizen and consumer?
- What is the Government doing with the savings?