Today’s news, with the headline:

Shahrir wants petrol priced not lower than RM1.92

By ROYCE CHEAH

PETALING JAYA: The minimum price of petrol should be RM1.92 per litre even if the global oil price continues to fall, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad said.

He said this would bring some stability to the retail price of petrol and minimise losses by petrol station owners.

Setting a minimum price would also enable the Government to reduce its subsidy on petrol if the global price fell further.

“The upper limit will be RM2.70 and it is my feeling that this is the optimal range,” Shahrir said when commenting on the losses petrol station dealers face whenever the price of petrol is reduced.

Ahmad Sarpur, a dealer in Johor, said dealers could lose between RM13,000 and RM25,000 each time petrol is reduced by 15 sen per litre.

“This is because there is a minimum order quantity of 21,000 litres that we must pay for immediately. There is no credit,” he said.

“If the petrol is delivered in the morning and the price is reduced at night, we have to sell petrol 15 sen cheaper than what we had paid for it.”

However, Shahrir said the Govern­ment had been fair to the dealers saying: “We have not reduced their margin of 12 sen per litre after it was increased in June and we will try as much as we can to keep upcoming price reductions to 15 sen at a time.”

Shahrir said this meant a minimal loss of three sen per litre.

Ahmad pointed out that it was difficult for dealers to hedge on prices as they were not given prior notice of price changes. He said the dealers should be given three days’ warning before a price change to carry their optimal amount of stock.

So after being short-changed for so many years, us ppl still have to look after the rights of these operators is it? So nice of Shahrir to jump out and explain these things to us when the price hasn’t even gone down yet. Nice fellow, him. Yes, I understand about this part:

Ahmad Sarpur, a dealer in Johor, said dealers could lose between RM13,000 and RM25,000 each time petrol is reduced by 15 sen per litre.

“This is because there is a minimum order quantity of 21,000 litres that we must pay for immediately. There is no credit,” he said.

“If the petrol is delivered in the morning and the price is reduced at night, we have to sell petrol 15 sen cheaper than what we had paid for it.”

But what if the global oil price has stabilize lower than its price when our petrol cost only 1.92 rm? For a long time? Still 1.92 is it? Still protecting the rights of these operators is it? As of right now, the light sweet crude oil price is “62.73 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, lowest settlement price in more than 17 months“.

For your information our petrol previously cost RM1.92, until June 2008. That was only 5 months ago. So, I’m only saying our current petrol price should only be lower than RM 1.92 isn’t it?

Well, I’m just saying. But I don’t see why we, the people, are always on the losing side. And why they didn’t think of our “losses” when they raise 78 sens at once without batting an eyelid.