In The Ring - Changing a life (that has no) style

My thoughts in Malay Mail this week -

AND so with a stroke of a pen the headlines were cast. A 41 per cent increase in fuel price.


The torrential rain that accompanied the queues at petrol stations across the country on the night of the announcement reflected the sombre mood collectively felt as a nation.

Contemplating how to cope with the petrol hike shocker and its after effects remains entrenched in the hearts – and befuddles the minds of many Malaysians across all segments. Rational Malaysians understand very well that this is a global phenomenon. Vivid pictures of demonstrations in Indonesia and even in Britain; the toppling of the government in Haiti … all illustrate the global impact of the issue. We are not alone in facing this difficulty.

Malaysians have been asked to ubah gaya hidup (make lifestyle changes).

I decided to probe the impact of the message on the urban youth (as I am a member of this segment, thus making the task easier).

The almost unanimous feedback on this message astounds me.

Over nasi kandar, a friend related his concerns.

When his father started working at a salary of RM1,800 in a government linked company (GLC) about 30 years ago, the money was enough for his mother to be a fulltime homemaker and the family had some room for ‘luxury’ spending. From his observations, the current crop of fresh graduates commence working life at approximately the same salary, but the cost of living has risen sharply since dad’s days.

It is now uncommon to see urban working couples enjoying the same kind of ‘luxurious’ lifestyle of yesteryear.

With two young kids of his own, my friend’s biggest fear is that in future his children would have to work two shifts or jobs just to make ends meet.

Herein is the theme of the feedback I received. “What else can we change?” Last night, I met a friend from my secondary school days. He had just returned from studying medicine in Britain. Surprisingly, his concerns mirror that of the urban youth.

He confides that every waking moment, he feels the money fl ow from his pockets. As a surgeon, I had assumed that, at the very least, he was comfortable.

I am sure he is among the 3.8 per cent of Malaysian taxpayers categorised under the highest paying 28 per cent taxable income bracket. But if he has concerns, what more the rest of us? Perhaps the conversation that had the greatest impact on me is of the banker whose hometown is in Paroi Jaya, Seremban.

A father of one, he is truly feeling the heat. His wife works to help pay the mortgage on their house and car.

As both of them work at unconventional hours, their son is sent to a nursery for most part of the day.

Dinner usually depends on what the coffee shops or stalls down the street or near the office offer.

Surely they have ‘items of luxury spending’ that can be sacrifi ced? The answer was a fl at ‘No’.

A signifi cant percentage of their savings are obligatory allowances to their families in Seremban. Their biggest concern? That the monthly money given to mak and ayah back home is no longer suffi cient. What else can he change? Curiosity drove me to push further. What is the single main grouse common amongst the urban youth that I met? Stagnant wages. Camoufl aged by the unrealistic Consumer Price Index, the barometer employed by the private sector for wages increase, many argue at 2.7 per cent, is not refl ective of the current situation.

What’s worse is that we have not even begun our battle against knock-on infl ation because of the hike.

Pictures of school canteen operators increasing their price adorn the covers of newspapers. This is something that must be changed.

Post June 4, the government had laid out ways and means to alleviate the burden of the rakyat. Numerous ideas were bandied, including some tangible suggestions such as removing the toll roads within the Klang Valley, improvement of public transport and usage of hybrid technology to reduce dependency on fossil fuel. These might ease the burden and hopefully create some space to accommodate changes in our lifestyles.

But for many, lifestyle changes have never been an option in the first place.