a day ago
PMX comes under fire for mocking rabble-rouser Malaysians 'to go buy petrol in Singapore'
FORMER UMNO supreme council member Isham Jalil has led a chorus of detractors to troll Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's out of the box notion that detractors who complained about high petrol prices in Malaysia should try to re-fuel in Singapore or for that matter even Thailand and Indonesia.
For context, PMX who is also the Finance Minister had snubbed opposition leaders at Saturday's (July 26) Turun Anwar rally who criticised the proposed six sen RON95 price reduction to RM1.99/litre as being 'chicken feed' given such cut has to take into account implications to the nation's financial stability.
'First and foremost, Singapore has no oil companies. There are no oil wells either. That's why the price is expensive,' Isham who was expelled from UMNO on Dec 7, 2023 for opposing the party's collaborations with DAP in elections schooled PMX on his Facebook page.
'Secondly, while the petrol price in Singapore is four or five times that of our RON95, their per capita earnings is five to six times ours. If we adjust the per capita earnings with purchasing power parity, it is still three times higher than Malaysia.
'As their purchasing power is much higher than ours, it is most insensible of you to lash out at Malaysians by challenging them to buy petrol in Singapore.'
The once special officer to incarcerated former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak went on to chide PMX by reminding him that he was the one who previously claimed that oil companies in Malaysia made billions, hence he promised to further lower petrol prices in Malaysia upon assuming the premiership.
'But after 20 years of making promises, oil price only dropped by 6 sen/litre. Podah (literally, 'damn').'
Elsewhere, Bersatu information chief Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz warned Malaysians against being overly elated with the RM1.99/litre price tag that was unveiled by PMX as part of his 'extraordinary tribute to Malaysians' package last week.
'Since when has the price of petrol come down? What was announced has not even been implemented yet,' he penned on his Facebook.
This is a valid point given even if the RM1.99/litre price tag materialises, not all Malaysians might get to enjoy the six sen/litre discount on grounds that this is part of the fuel subsidy rationalisation exercise that ultimately entails a free float of RON95 (well-to-do motorists may end up having to pay RM2.50-RM2.60/litre).
'With the current fall in world crude oil prices, the fall in the value of the greenback and by using the Rafizi formula, Anwar should have been able to lower the price of RON95 petrol and diesel to RM1.70/litre now instead of end-September,' opined the former press secretary to then communications and multimedia minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa.
'It seems the Turun Anwar rally has had a huge impact on the brains and emotions of PMX, the Madanons, Walanons and most strangely, the UMDAP gang. In fact, the UMDAP gang has been experiencing postpartum blues since last Saturday.' – July 29, 2025
