Pengguna perihatin

Decrease In Petrol Price Not A Political Gimmick

PUTRAJAYA, Aug 22 (Bernama) -- The drop in petrol and diesel prices as announced by the government Friday, was neither a political gimmick nor related to the Permatang Pauh by-election, said Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad.

"If there was no by-election, the government would still announce the decrease in petrol price and the government is not influenced with what is going on in Permatang Pauh.

"We are doing what we had decided on before. Petrol and diesel prices would be reviewed monthly and of course, the government is interested if there was a formula to lessen the people's burden," he told reporters here.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced Friday that the retail price of RON97 would drop by 15 sen from RM2.70 per litre to RM2.55 per litre and the price of RON92 will drop by 22 sen from RM2.62 per litre to RM2.40 per litre.

The retail price of diesel would be reduced by eight sen per litre from RM2.58 per litre to RM2.50 per litre, beginning Saturday.

Asked if there would be anymore changes in the price of petrol and diesel in September, Shahrir said the method of standardising the price would be carried out by the government for the first time and should not be rushed.

"Of course, the government would like to provide the people lower petrol prices, but we must use the best approach for the people and also for the petroleum industry," he said.

Earlier, Shahrir had announced a rise in the Consumer Price Index for the period of January to July which had risen as much as 4.4 per cent to 109.8, as compared to 105.2 during the same period last year.

He said the most obvious increase was seen in the food and beverage index which was as much as 6.9 per cent, transport (6.7 per cent) and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (1.4 per cent).

"We hope with the drop in petrol prices, it will help to reduce the stress of inflation," he said.

In KUALA LUMPUR, Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia secretary-general Datuk Dr Maamor Osman welcomed the move as it would be a big help to consumers but also urged the government not to allow increases in public transport fare rates, especially with the Aidilfitri celebrations coming soon.

Malaysian Bumiputera Manufacturers and Services Industries Association deputy president Major (B) Abdul Rahman Ibrahim said the government had taken a positive step by reducing the prices of petrol and diesel.

Cuepacs president Omar Osman said with the reduction in the prices of petrol and diesel, civil servants, especially those with lower incomes would feel less of a pinch in their expenditure.

Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations secretary-general Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah said the move to reduce the prices of the two items would not make a big difference if the prices of essential goods kept going up.

-- BERNAMA

# posted by share n care @ 7:50 AM