Tomorrow is Christmas Day and I find the roads between Seremban and KL,also in KL itself, quite free of the sickening jams that we use to experience. By 8 PM the roads were quite deserted for I believe those who celebrate Christmas are all gathered together at home for the Christmas eve dinner while others have also arrived at the places where they will spend the Christmas holidays.
Happy Christmas to every one and a very happy New Year. 2015 will certainly be an exciting year for all in Malaysia - for our friends in other countries too I'm sure - since there are many new challenges and development that will only come into force next year.
a Christmas beauty is always a pleasure to see
For Malaysians one of the greatest expectations is a reduction in the price of gas.(Let's keep political development aside first).The price of Ron95 shot up by 20 sen some time in August and then came down by 4 sen last month. (And that was hailed like great blessing). It is expected to fall below RM2 next year due to the drop in the price of crude oil. But will that also trigger a decrease in the price of essential commodities, thus reducing the cost of living in this country? Everyone has been complaining that the prices for so many essential items have been skyrocketing lately, and there was little that the government could do to stop that. Ask the shopkeepers why prices have been going up and they will say, "patrol price went up and so does the cost of transportation." Few will talk about inflation. But now they might say that the prices of things will go up because the value of the ringgit has gone down. They must, therefore, increase the price of their goods to make some profit.
well, everyone is having a great time!
The greatest scare as a probable cause of price hike in the coming year is the implementation of the GST.
The government has been giving a lot of talks and explanation on radio and TV about GST, to show that it will NOT cause an increase in the price of goods and services. But simple logic says that if the sale of all ingredients and raw materials for producing or supplying anything at all is taxed, the price of the final product will certainly go up. Even now pharmacists are saying that the retail price of medical supplies will go up after GST comes into force. So will the cost of medical services and definitely the price of houses and real estate. The government has not categorically denied such possibility. Since more Malaysians are now getting older and need more medical supplies and services, healthier food and more comfortable homes, the possibility of further increase in what they have to pay for their needs, certainly is a great concern. Especially when the income for public servants and pensioners does not rise by much. Private sector employers can of course raise the income of their workers by raising the prices of the goods and services they provide.
But let us not allow this concern to affect the joy of Christmas and the spirit of the New Year. Many political issues are certainly disturbing most Malaysians now but just switch on the TV to the various channels made available, and one will find so many entertaining programs to make us forget those issues. Hot and controversial issues do not seem to be discussed on TV or radio, so that people will not become unnecessarily agitated. For such discussion or commentaries one must go to the social website and bloggers forum. Everything on the mainstream news channels seems to be okay and Malaysians need not worry at all.
So Merry Christmas and Happy New Year again to all.
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