PUTRAJAYA: The good times are back. The country’s economic growth is expected to have reached or exceeded the 5.8% target for 2006, and the Government is confident the stock market rally can be sustained as well.

“We are very confident the good times are here,” said Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop. – “Good times are back again”, The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Average Malaysian wages are expected to grow at a faster rate this year than that of workers in Europe, the US and parts of Asia.

After adjusting for inflation, they are forecast to rise by 3.3 per cent compared with American workers, for example, whose pay may inch up just 1.1 per cent. – “Malaysians enjoy better pay rise than Europeans and Americans”, NST

Mr Quane, ECA International’s general manager in Hong Kong (the company that conducted the survey), went on to say that “…inflation is forecast to fall to 2.7 per cent from 3.8 per cent last year… For the average person, the standard of living should improve. Purchasing power will be much higher.”

Oh, please don’t make me laugh.

Just 1 January this year, toll prices went up 60% and with that, so did everything else. Go out for a meal of mixed rice and you’ll end up paying nearly RM5 for a piece of fish, two veg and a handful of meat when you would have gotten away with paying just RM4 or RM3.50 about two months ago.

While globally, petrol prices have dropped, fuel in Malaysia is still the price that it was six months ago. No talk of a drop, which is not surprising but how can inflation be forecasted to fall when everything else is going up because of added transportation and fuel costs?

Oh yes, I forgot about wages. It is perhaps the only thing that hasn’t increase together with everything else. My increment this year doesn’t even cover 1/3 of the toll I have to pay every month just to get to work.

Speaking of toll, this is a sore issue with me. How does a government get away with making an agreement that allows toll operators to increase their prices every year without fail, especially when concessions have been paid up?

Sure, living conditions can improve…you can have higher purchasing power…just don’t save any money at all every month. Forget about the whole “saving for a rainy day” thing. Call it bullshit. If you look at it, I can actually have a lot to spend if I don’t save anything at all. After all, I’ll have someone to fall back on. If I don’t, I’ll just go into debt. Great way to live out your adult life, no?

Every Chinese New Year and afterwards, I feel the pinch. You want to know why? Because prices go up and they stay up while consumers and citizens get cheated time and time again.

So my question is this: When you say that good times are back and that inflation is down plus wages are up, who the fuck are you exactly referring to? The average person out there?

Please.

:furious: