There has been much anger at the recent decision to raise the price of fuel. As an entertainment piece, this blog will remain apolitical. However, this new development could possibly a defining moment in Malaysia’s history, in sync with that of the world. Will the Digital Age be superseded by a Scorched Era, where the price of fuel becomes so high, nobody can afford to live anymore?
Of course, I am an eternal optimist. Here I will present the brighter side of the fuel price increase.
1) Car thefts will drop to almost zero. No self-respecting thief will rob something that will cost him to lose money. I predict that in the future, car thieves will approach big guzzlers like Mercs and Harriers, break the windscreen and just leave some money on the dashboard to save time.
2) Malaysia will no longer be a nation of obese people, as people won’t be able to
afford food. Also, now everyone will have to walk or cycle to work, increasing exercise time. A healthy Malaysia is a wealthy Malaysia.
3) We will all be forced to be ‘greener’ in our approach to life-style changes. I advocate not just writing on both sides of the sheet of paper, but on the edges as well.
4) Our creativity will grow by leaps and bounds, especially at trying to save more fuel. Current reported attempts have included calling a tow truck to tow your car to work with you sitting in it, as it was thought to be cheaper than actually pumping petrol in your car and then driving it.
5) No longer will we hear of road rage, because nobody can even afford a car.
6) Additionally, with less cars on the road, there will be less traffic offences, thus police officers will have more time on their hands to tackle more important crimes.
7) No longer will government doctors be overworked, as hospitals can only open 12-hours a day, thanks to electricity tariffs increasing. This means more alert and well rested doctors to tackle patients’ problems.
8) We can finally laugh at those rich people who bought LARGE SUVs.
9) The problem of illegal immigration will be solved INSTANTANEOUSLY. No one will dare step foot on our country, since it will make them poorer than they already are.
10) Mamak stalls will no longer be able to operate 24 hours per day, thus curbing the ‘lepak culture’.
11) In the same vein as No. 9, Malaysia will never have war waged against her as no nation can afford the expensive fuel to maintain their tanks, airplanes,etc when they invade us.
12) The incidence of burglaries and robberies of homes and banks will decrease, as it will be much easier and profitable to hold up the pump attendant and siphon off petrol at petrol stations.
13) If the price of oil spikes further, even the number of motorcyclists will decrease, and that means NO MORE MAT REMPITS!!!
14) Traffic jams will be absolutely hilarious, as they will last up to months. This is because when people are stuck in a jam, they become very kiasu and switch off their engines to save petrol, and wait for the first sign the cars in front will move, then and only then will they turn on their own engines. What happens of course, is that EVERYONE is doing the same thing, waiting for each other to move.
15) The phrase “ Do I look like I’m made of money?”, will now be replaced by “ Do I look like I’m made of petrol?”, which at least sounds hilarious.
16) More students will study in local universities instead of foreign universities because a flight ticket to anywhere beyond Singapore requires a mortgage or loan shark.
17) Local travel agents will experience a boon in business. International airlines can only afford to fuel up half a tank for every flight. The strategy will be to fly halfway, then crashland in the ocean, and wish all passengers the very best of luck, and hope to see them onboard again. Thanks for flying!
18) Less land will be used to build cemeteries, freeing up land for housing and development projects, as the trend of the future when one dies is to be decomposed and then used as alternative biomass fuel, enough to power a Proton Wira for a week, saving approximately enough money to buy a house.
19) The rate of fires started by arsonists will be decreased, due to high prices of an arsonist’s arsenal, which includes petrol, kerosene and other flammable sources.
20) Who thinks the phrase ‘arsonist’s arsenal’ will make a good name for a blog or rock band?
21) Cigarette smoking will cease amongst all Malaysians. Sooner or later, even kerosene for the Zippo Lighters will be too expensive. The incidence of respiratory and cardiac disease will decrease dramatically.
22) Open air burning will be a thing of the past.
23) For the 2012 Olympics, Malaysia will definitely win the gold medal for sprinting and long distance running events, as running will be the main mode of transportation from now on.
Here I will end with an anecdote. Yesterday I saw an Ah Beng pushing a Proton Iswara along the road. He was wearing a formal shirt and a tie complete with slacks. The poor dude was soaked with sweat. I wound down my window and asked him if he needed help.
“ It’s okay, my car is not spoiled! I just want to save money, so I decided to push the car instead of turning on the engine. Petrol price so expensive!”, said the Ah Beng.
I was dumbounded. It took me several moments to process what he actually meant. Then I asked, “ Why don’t you walk instead?’, fearing that my question made too much sense for him.
“Aiyoh, my company place got free parking mah!”,he replied.
That’s it for today! Till then, my dear Malaysian friends, keep your chin up, and square your shoulders. Every generation has it challenges. Our parents dealt with the fight for independence, the communist insurgency and many more. This is our challenge, and may we all persevere and prevail!
P/s- Of course the story about the Ah Beng pushing his car wasn’t true. But at least you laughed.
