New Year & Inflation

The Covid-19 virus does not celebrate New Year. We will be stuck with this pandemic for a while longer. Inflation does not stop rising on New Year's Day. In fact, many businesses take the opportunity at the end of the year to raise prices. Inflation started to spike in the middle of 2021. After 18 months of the pandemic, many things are thrown out of sink. Shipment costs doubled or tripled. As most goods found in the supermarkets are imported, the rise in price is inevitable. Revelation 6 predicts that prices could go up four-fold in a blink of an eye. Chicken rice that costs RM8 last year now costs RM9.00. A cup of coffee is 50 cents higher which is a 25% increase. Some shops now charge RM3-4 ringgit for a cup of coffee, almost 50% rise in price compared to just a few months ago. Why is that happening in Malaysia?

Even the world's greatest economy, the USA are not immune to inflation pressure, though the US dollar is still the world trading currency. Malaysian ringgit continues to decline and weaken (4.2 to 1USD or 3.09 to 1SGD). There is no escaping the hardship living and staying in Malaysia. Road conditions are getting worse during the rainy season. One friend texted that he knew of 10 vehicles in the past months having their tyres and rims broken or busted from their journeys on the Telupid to Ranau route. I know that stretch of the road well. One pastor fell from his motorcycle by hitting a pothole three or four years ago and he is still bed-ridden. As for me, I welcome the New Year as I normally do every morning. I read two or three Psalms, Zech 11 and Philippians 3 and then more from Phil 1-2. Evening I read about king Rehobeam and his son, Abijah, three and four chapters in 2 Kings of how if we seek God, God shall be with us and we can defeat our enemies and have peace and rest without conflict. I believe that God will defeat this enemy called Covid-19 and also inflation. He will provide and He will bless. God's servants are immune to recession because it is God who cares and He is the Lord of all the earth.