Inevitably, reality had to come crashing onto our skulls so that we would awaken and be shocked into a re-think and a re-shape of the grey matter in our heads.
The point that was made was: No one will object to cuts in subsidies if they know that the money will be used rightfully on projects that benefit the nation and the people as a whole. .... If five sen is saved from sugar, let the public know how it is spent.
Unless an intricate household-to-household survey is done, we are not going to determine the exact number of people who live below the poverty line.
Together with the cut in subsidies, we must create a free market for people to trade in goods without any form of restriction which is primarily aimed at protecting certain categories of business people. When restrictions are lifted, there will be competition, which in turn would bring about lower prices which ought to be passed on to the consumer.
Unfortunately in our system, benefits to the consumer never seem to be the priority in the larger scheme of things.
http://www.malaysia-today.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33245:subsidies-are-not-sweet-deals&catid=17:guest-columnists&Itemid=100130
