It's Just a Rumour

Wanted to fill up my petrol tank yesterday - it was nearly empty and got word about the petrol price hike of 20 sen that was supposed to happen today - (urgggh... wat, another price hike so soon??). Everyone at work and play reminded each other to fill up our petrol tanks to the brim. The 20 sen increase per litre of petrol is quite a lot of money.

My favourite Shell petrol station was ultra packed. So we decided to head home and get the fuel from the Petronas station nearby. It was not packed thankfully, but the credit card readers were all jammed. Everyone had to use cash.

Station Owner: Tomorrow petrol price hike, that's why cannot use credit card - all jammed up.
Customer 1 (in front of me): So how? I want to fill up full tank but got not enough cash. Try again lar...
Station Owner: Ok, but let others have their turns first. Next!

There's this impatient guy behind me who really behaved like he would absolutely die if he doesn't get to pay first. And he wasn't the only one, everyone that trooped to pay at the cashier counter had this crazed excited looks on their faces. I wasn't sure if I had one, heh.

Customer 3 overcut my turn simply by virtue of having a more crazed and desperate look on his face.

Customer 3: RM20. Haiyo, petrol price gonna increase by 20 sen tomorrow lar!
Station Owner: Hah??! 20 sen ah? Wah, I didn't know it's so drastic.

Then the crazed look overcame the previously benign look on his face. Maybe he was already thinking of hoarding all that petrol and putting up a 'Sold Out' sign and sell them all tomorrow for a pretty profit.

Yeah, I think at that point I must have looked paranoid as well. Herd mentality mah.

Anyway, he attended to me next and soon we were on our merry way back home, car being full and satisfied. My bro and I urged my dad to pump the cars at home to the full and he said, "Aiya, what's the rush? How much can you save anyway?"

Wise words indeed. For it turns out that while the price hike will occur sometime in the future, it did not happen today as predicted.

It's just a rumour.