Petronas RESPONDED to Phillip Hollsworth's theory?

Was reading the daily paper today and I was surprised that Petronas actually RESPONDED to the e-mail circulation which I assume suggesting the idea of Phillip Hollsworth to boycott a particular gas company as an initiative to spark a price war in the industry, at least, regionally I think.

Petronas claimed in today's report, http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/6/17/nation/21572774&sec=nation this kind of action would hurt the station owners, enterprises selling their products in the station & shareholders whom they claim many are pensioners.

Did Petronas deliberately mentioned the many other parties that will suffer from such a boycott to convince the public not to do so?

Or did Petronas took such action out of fear that it might actually work?

In my previous post, I've stated my 2 cents as to why this plan will not work. On top of that, I've debated with my friend for over 2-3 hours as he thinks that my theory will not work either.

Such boycott, which I doubt will eventually spark a price war, will still have negative impacts on Petronas itself, though it might not directly hit the fuel price though.

As mentioned, e-mails have been flying around on a geometric progression and exposure to Phillip Hollsworth's theory has been growing exponentially. This will also mean that suppliers that are engaged with Petronas kiosks might also receive this.

If I'm a supplier, the fear of thought that people would actually agree to Phillip Hollsworth's theory will make me think twice about business with Petronas. Perhaps to the suppliers, its time to look at the yellow traffic light and re-consider the amount of supplies to Petronas? The credit terms to Petronas? The supplier rebate to Petronas? & etc...

It might not be significant, but it will affect Petronas for sure.

But still, I doubt this will spark a price war. Gas users can boycott or favor whatever petrol company out of their own wish and I think what Petronas did (urging the public not to join e-mail boycott) was not the smartest move. Whether the theory is misleading or not, Petronas's action indicates a reaction out of fear.

Me? I'm a loyal customer to the one that gives me Smile's point. Simply because... they are drivers too..... :)