On petrol, subsidies, orang pulau, Johor, the Tun and the nation.

We have to see the bigger picture here. Our leaders totally lack good business sense.

Being a poorer neighbour with a weaker currency, its natural our richer orang pulau will come here to spend. What we should be doing is to encourage them to spend!!!

BUT, when it comes to petrol and other subsidised stuff, our dungu government should be controlling sales to citizens. We have the MYKad anyway. Why not use it. Why not allow only MYKad users to buy subsidised stuff like fuel, cooking oil, flour etc? Those without Mykads will have to pay the full unsubsidised rates, which will still be cheap for the orang pulau.

We have got to remember that millions are spent here in small poor border towns like JB for example. This money trickles down into the local economy and supports the property market, the retail business and the man in the street, by way of employment.Business do well, they pay taxes (if LHDN is smart enough to collect). And business who do well, provide more employment. Its a win-win situation.

The above is a very simplistic outline of the economics involved. If we can have a proper working relationship with them, it will be a win-win situation for all of us.

As for allegations of late that the government is selling off land to orang asing at the expense of the Malays here, I can only sigh at the hypocricy of it all. It was under the old man's term of office that his supposed cronies acquired about 25,000 acres of land around Gelang Patah for the second link project. A substantial acreage of land nearby was also acquired for the Port of Tg Pelepas project. The former screwed up big time due to lack of proper and good business sense, amongst other reasons. The latter has grown into a reputable entity.

Surely after allowing for such a huge land acquisition, the old man didnt expect the site to be redeveloped into a huge township and sold solely to locals?

All this political mess being spilled in the open is very bad for business. The nation is undergoing changes, and so is the region and the world. Can we have some sanity. Can all those at the top push aside their differences and work for the common good of the nation and its people, for once?