IMPACT OF THE FUEL PRICE HIKE TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

1.0 INTRODUCTION FUEL AS SOURCE OF ENERGY FOR ECONOMIC SECTOR IN MALAYSIA. Energy is the foundation that supports and spurs the socio-economic development of a country. There are many challenges and issues with regard to energy- supply and demand in Malaysia namely energy security, fuel supply and pricing, especially gas pricing, renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation, sensitivities of nuclear option, and the restructuring of the electricity supply industry (Tan, Maragatham, and Leong, 2013). Malaysia’s energy sources primarily comprise oil, natural gas, hydro power and coal, although renewable energy (RE) sources such as solar power and biomass are currently being exploited (Poh and Kong, 2002) Fuel is any materials that store potential energy in forms that can be practicably released and used as heat energy. All transportation and machinery require fuels to function such as trucks, crane, etc. The primary energy demand is highly dependent upon the price of fuels used as well as the technology utilized in providing the energy to the various sector. Thus energy demand is sensitive to the changes in energy price; type of fuels used at different sectors or industry and the pace of technological change which impacts directly or indirectly on energy supply and demand (Tan, Maragatham, Leong, 2013). Oil, natural gas, and coal will continue to play a main role in the long-term energy supply. Oil still remains the largest single source of energy demand and the natural gas will displace coal as the second-largest fuel. Natural gas has been seen as an economical, clean, and abundant fuel as compared to other fuel source. It will help to meet the rising power generation demand in the near future.

2.0 IMPACT OF THE FUEL PRICE HIKE TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

2.1 Introduction
The recent increase in fuel and building price will give the big impact on the construction industry, which is one of the country’s engines of growth, and