By KINIBIZ
On Thursday, highway users began living with a new reality where their daily toll charges are steeper – in some cases motorists have to pay double what they used to.
Some dub this the bitter before Budget 2016 sweets to be presented next week on Oct 23. The concessionaires say the hikes are a necessity. Motorists are naturally unhappy – social media is awash with complaints that the timing is terrible, among others.
And they are in a way right: latest economic data suggest the nation is still grappling with the effects of the goods and services tax (GST) which began kicking in April 1 this year.
Inflation for the month of August came in at 3.1%, higher than most analyst expectations despite disinflationary effects from lower retail pump prices that month, which fell 10 sen across the board.
If the retail pump prices are removed from the equation, economists say August inflation would have clocked in even higher at 3.7% – which would have been the highest since the global financial crisis ended.
In particular, services inflation – the best proxy for GST implementation – rose by 4.1% year-on-year in August, the strongest since December 2008, indicating that GST is still being felt by consumers, say Hong Leong Investment Bank.
It all adds up to this: Whatever politicians say, GST impact on living costs is real and available economic data proves it.
And allowing the toll rates to increase while Malaysians are still adjusting to the pains of GST is simply rubbing salt to our wounds.
Anyway here’s a selection of our best news, analyses and commentaries this past week for your reading pleasure:
Is Battersea losing power? On Sept 30, the three-year term of Liew Kee Sin as board chairman at the Battersea Power Station redevelopment project came to an end. Can the project power on without his charismatic leadership, even if the shadow of his personal conflict had loomed over the project? Start reading here.
Ten ways to boost confidence. The Malay rulers have issued a timely, if unusual, statement about maintaining confidence in the face of controversy over 1MDB and over the exploitation of racial and religious issues last week. And here’s a list of 10 things that would improve confidence in these troubled times. Read here.
Why 1MDB should be dragged to court. So Bank Negara Malaysia feels 1Malaysia Development Bhd should be grilled in court. Based on publicly available information, the case is compelling yet the Attorney-General’s Chambers feels otherwise. And the question is why. Read further here.
Toll hikes come at the worst possible time. As Malaysians are struggling to adjust to the impact of GST and the rising cost of living, a toll hike of up to 100% is another blow. What is the justification when Malaysian motorists probably pay among the highest tax rates in the world? Read here.
Public transport fare hike and Budget 2016. The Land Public Transport Commission (Spad) has announced that a revision in public transport fares is due to take place by the end of the month, after a thwarted attempt at raising fares earlier this year. So how committed is Putrajaya to boosting public service? Read here.
China’s hard landing may hit Malaysian manufacturing sector. A key risk to the outlook for the Malaysian manufacturing sector is from the downside risk that the Chinese economy slumps into a hard landing or protracted period of weak economic growth, a regional economist told KINIBIZ. Read here.
A door opens for the IPPs? Independent power producers (IPPs) must now contend with a new mechanism that will replace the existing power purchase agreements (PPAs) mechanism. Details are scarce. But why can’t their PPAs be renewed instead with them being given lower rates? Read here.
Enterprising individuals in amusing places. Sometimes, some people are simply ingenious in the enterprising ways they work hard at chasing their daily bread. That was the case with one encounter our resident cat had, where a real estate agent drives around providing Uber service. Why? Read here.
Weak states, poor countries. So how do you really help the poor stop being poor? Angus Deaton, the latest winner of the Economics Nobel Prize, argues that in the long run poor people need government to lead better lives and that means keeping their governments in the loop. Read more here.
Job-saving technologies. This is an age of anxiety about the job-killing effects of automation, with dire headlines warning that the rise of robots will render entire occupational categories obsolete. But this fatalism assumes that we are powerless to harness what we create to improve our lives – and, indeed, our jobs. Read here.
If you like these stories, you can get much more for just 87 sen a day. At a promotional price of RM318 per year, you can have full access to KINIBIZ online for your daily dose of business updates plus a free copy of our fortnightly KINIBIZ magazine. Click here.
Because whether you prefer online or print, morning coffee tastes so much better when you have the sharpest reads in town to sip to – for a sweet deal at that.
— By Khairie Hisyam Aliman, News Editor
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