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Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Now this is what I think.

The Singapore Government should subsidise on petrol, or reduce it's amount of taxation on it, and maybe cap it at $1.5 a litre. This will not, contrary to what most people think, make Singapore follow in Indonesia's footsteps. In fact, this will spur growth.

The theory goes like this, with petrol prices now hitting $1.897 per litre, people are driving slowly to save petrol, this causes frustration on the roads, and frustration in turn, reduces productivity. In order to get to work on time, while driving at a slower speed, people have to wake up earlier then usual, thus get tired more easily during the course of work, again reducing productivity. Indirectly, having to wake up early also reduces productivity of another kind, and having less children means the was-parents-to-be have less motivation to work harder at work.

Yes, one can say taking public transport will save all this problems, but remember, the roads are still slower now, thus one still have to wake up early. Also, dreams and aspirations are killed with the rising petrol prices, dreams of buying a jag at the age of 21 (for one of the guys in my camp). One can say that you just have to work harder, to fulfill that dream, but can you guarentee that petrol prices won't hit $2 or even $3 per litre, thus moving the goal posts further and further away unitl one cannot see it, and lose his or her aim in life?

One of the reason Singapore attracts so many investors is because of it's first class transportation system. With petrol prices higher than most in the region, and with the region opening up and improving more and more, can Singapore keep it's edge?

So Singapore should really look into capping petrol prices, thus increasing productivity, investments. Most importantly, I do not have to watch how much i press the accelerator anymore, and be able to concentrate more on the roads, with my mind cleared of images of money flying out of my already shallow pocket when the accelerator is pressed.

Malaysia Boleh!!!8:51 PM