A Hodgepodge of Updates

Petrol Prices

The prices of petrol in Malaysia have not changed. Diesel, RON 92, and RON 97 continue to sell at the same prices of the months before. However, come this July, RON 95 will be introduced, phasing out RON 92. RON 95 will be sold at the price that RON 92 present sells for (RM1.70 per litre). RON 97 will be sold at an increased price, compared to its present price. The prices of RON 95 and RON 97 will be announced only in July. (Source: The Star Online, 20th Feb. 2009. RON 97 Petrol To Cost More In July. URL : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/2/20/nation/20090220193422&sec=nation) One particular blogger suggests that the price of RON 97 may be floated from July 2009. (Source: paultan.org, 19th Feb. 2009. RON 97 Petrol to be Floated from July 2009. URL: http://paultan.org/archives/2009/02/19/ron97-petrol-to-be-floated-from-july-2009/)

Subsidy Ends March 31st
The subsidy, or cash rebate, given to owners of vehicles below 2,000 cc, will come to an end this 31st March 2009. It is likely that this cash rebate subsidy will not be reintroduced in the future as the rakyat seem to prefer lower petrol prices at the pump, said Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Samad. (Source: The Star Online, 25th Feb. 2009. Get Your Rebates By March 31. URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/2/25/nation/20090225073157&sec=nation)

Pricing Mechanism For Petrol
Ismail Ahmad, domestic trade division senior director at the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry, writing in the New Straits Times, wrote that the Government has been using the APM (Automatic Pricing Mechanism) method since 1983 to fix the price of petrol. Seven (7) components of the APM mechanism were discussed: cost of product, alpha, operational cost, oil companies' margin, station dealers' margin, sales tax and subsidies. (Source: New Straits Times Online, 15th Feb. 2009. Setting the Retail Price for Petrol and Diesel. URL: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/National/2479984/Article/index_html) Perhaps this topic can be the subject matter of a separate blog post.

Plastic - Petrol Initiatives
In Sri Lanka, a method has been invented to convert plastic, one of the most troublesome waste products of modern times, to petrol. Its inventor is named Ananda Vithanage. (Source: Daily News, 24th Feb. 2009. Petrol From Plastic Soon. URL: http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/02/24/news03.asp) But this does not seem new. In Nagpur, India, Alka Zadgaonkar, head of department of organic chemistry in GH Raisoni College of Engineering, has signed a MOU with India Oil Corporation (IOC) to manufacture and market fuel products obtained from waste plastic. Her method involves heating shredded plastic, free of oxygen, over coal, together with a secret ingredient. 1 kg of plastic and 100 gm of coal yields about 1 litre of fuel. (Source: The Sunday Tribune, 28th Sept. 2003. Converting Plastic Waste Into Petrol. URL: http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030928/spectrum/main4.htm)