POLITI SCHEISS: PSM CALLS UPON GOVERNMENT TO REMOVE THE FUEL SUBSIDY

I'm pretty sure Malaysians will gladly vote for Parti Socialis Malaysia (PSM) if petrol prices at the pump increase, despite the sharp plunge in the price of Brent Crude.

When the price of Brent Crude was down around US$30 per barrel, people were complaining that the price of fuel at the pump did not drop correspondingly and just because the price of Brent Crude plunged to US$33.98 per barrel today, PSM calls upon the government to remove the fuel subsidy

This is a perfect example of an oxymoronic term i coined - i.e. neoliberal-socialism.

I'd expect such a call to come from the likes of the neoliberal think tank, the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) but not from a party which claims to be "socialist".

However, this should not be surprising in the 21st Century, when "far-left" governments such as Syriza betray the results of the Greek referendum and impose austerity dictated by European Union and banksters' upon the Greek people.

Removing fuel subsidy will save RM6 bil, govt told as global oil price plunges

FMT Reporters - March 9, 2020 9:44 AM

PETALING JAYA: Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) today called on Putrajaya to do away with the fuel subsidy, saying this would save the government nearly RM6 billion in the wake of reports that oil markets have suffered their worst drop since the Gulf War.

The party's environmental and climate crisis bureau committee member, Sharan Raj, said Perikatan Nasional should abolish the automatic pricing mechanism (APM) and allow for free float.

He said the money saved from removing the APM could be used to subsidise and expand public transport nationwide.

"The government could purchase more than 6,600 electric buses with RM6 billion savings or nearly 34,000 electric buses in five years," he said in a statement.

He added however that the price of diesel should be regulated to prevent upward pressure on inflation.

Noting that diesel is widely used for the transport of goods and public transport services, he said floating diesel prices would result in price fluctuations for logistic costs.

He suggested that the price for Euro 2M Diesel and Euro 5 Diesel be fixed at RM2.20 per litre and RM2.00 per litre respectively.

Earlier today, Bloomberg reported that oil markets tumbled more than 30% after the disintegration of the Opec+ alliance triggered an all-out price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Brent futures suffered the second-largest drop on record in the opening seconds of trading in Asia, behind only the plunge during the Gulf War in 1991.

Putrajaya had planned to implement a targeted petrol subsidy scheme for low-income earners prior to the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government. It has since been put on hold.

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/03/09/removing-fuel-subsidy-will-save-rm6-bil-govt-told-as-global-oil-price-plunges/

Meanwhile, stay tuned to the price of Brent Crude:-