KUALA LUMPUR, 12 Oct 2008: The government should revise fuel prices weekly instead of monthly, or float the price, so that people can benefit from falling global prices more immediately, Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said.
“Yesterday, I suggested (in the presidential address to Gerakan delegates) that the price of oil be reviewed, not once a month, but at least once a week. When the world price of crude oil falls, the rakyat have to wait a month to enjoy its positive effects,” the Gerakan president said.
Speaking to reporters today after closing the party’s 37th national delegates conference, he noted that the price of crude oil had fallen to US$82 per barrel.
“The effects must be enjoyed by the people more immediately. Otherwise, we are going to suffer the burden [of rising fuel prices], but not the benefit [of falling prices],” he said.
Koh noted that when the prices of world commodities slide, the impact is immediately felt in Malaysia.
“When palm oil prices tumbled, the impact was immediate. We should, if not float [fuel prices], revise [them] once a week. Every Monday or something like that. Rather than once a month, so we can closely follow the world market.”
Koh said although the economy is fundamentally still stable, Malaysia must take pre-emptive measures to stave off the global recession that may run ashore.
“Already, the rakyat have felt the burden and the negative effects of the rising price of petrol and goods,” he said. 
