Malaysian ministers still get all-expenses paid holidays'

We have leaders with the thickest skins on earth. When the rakyat can’t even afford to pump gas to go to work and we are turning off lights at home to save on electricity, our leaders have the cheek to announce a so called cost savings plan which still consists of fully paid holidays for ministers without a spending limit, and which ‘only’ confined to Asean countries. What?

If you guys wanted to go for a holiday, shouldn’t you pay for your own as opposed to the government seeking additional funding from the rakyat? For goodness sake, the whole bunch of you, please just resign or you will be booted out of office.

Our most ‘caring’ leaders has also chosen to bleed the rakyat first before digging into their own pocket. Cost-cutting plans, which should have been kickstarted long time ago is only proposed now because the rakyat is getting very angry.

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's proposed cost-cutting initiatives to placate Malaysians are truly laughable. Why on earth would we be impressed that our ministers can only now go to week-long vacations to Asean and local destinations when the livelihoods of so many Malaysians are in jeopardy?

To show that he feels for the people, the prime minister should sell his RM200 million jet and fly commercial like everyone else. And how about cutting down the number of ministers from 28 to 14 and replacing their gas-guzzling official cars of Mercedes Benzes and BMWs with Proton Perdanas?

At first glance Pak Lah's cost cutting exercise looked very impressive. But knowing that even a beggar in China could part with his last coin to donate to those unfortunate earthquake victims, it was not really of a sacrifice on the part of our ministers.

Before the oil price hike, many Malaysians were already living from hand to mouth. Many of the children of the poor have to labour for a few ringgit just to make sure that their families have two simple meals of broth with salted fish. Oh yes, some may even have to skip one daily meal.

Now the prices of goods would definitely rise higher and would make life for them extremely hard. In view of this scenario, limiting our ministers’ holidays to Asean countries is no big deal. Already they are having such good life.

It would be more reasonable to scrap all holidays for them. Remember beggars can part with their last coin for quake victims. Doing away with their holidays would not in any way make them poorer than the beggars.

One more act that Pak Lah should do is to ban ministers from taking their spouses along on overseas trips. Besides that, the PM should also withdraw servants allowances for ministers and top government officials.

In times of difficulties, their wives can help to cook and wash for the husbands. This is not too big a sacrifice for after all the pathetic conditions we are in are a result of their incompetency in managing the country.

Oh yes, Pak Lah, might have conveniently forgotten to scrap prestigious events like the Monsoon Cup and the Formula 1. Those two races are not actually enriching the lives of the poor and average. As I see it, it is more of an occasion for the rich and well-connected to mingle with celebrities.

What? Did we queue up during polling day to vote in somebody in so that he can enjoy life like having free overseas holidays, entertainment allowance, police outriders? If I had known this I would have done some apple-polishing and got myself too to stand for elections, never mind even if it is at Tanjong Rambutan.

Who cares who I am supposed to serve? From what I see, the ministers care for no one but themselves and serve no one but only themselves. Now I understand why. Oh dear. No wonder some with lovely careers throw it away and give some pathetic reason that they want to serve the needs of the people and the country and so become ministers and politicians.

I am too disgusted to comment further – when the tiger has already tasted blood, you mean to say it will settle for 7-Up? No way, man.

In keeping with his performance so far, this PM is again introducing new half- measures. I'm sure I won't be the only one to raise a hue-and-cry about these so-called stand of solidarity the ministers are taking with the people (if you can believe what Najib is saying in the press).

We are still paying for the ministers' all-expenses paid holidays? And we are still paying for their monthly entertainment expenses, albeit 10% less? Half-measures, half-measures. If he is serious, take a pay cut and have no holidays on our dime, and have no ‘entertainment’.

Seriously, does he want to tell us that when they meet somebody, they will pay for the coffee and GROs? And when they have done all that, they then tell us they ‘understand our plight’. They should just shut up.

The current mess is wholly and entirely the government's fault. Their gross economic mismanagement over the decades and their systematic monopoly of power to deny others a fair chance to manage the economy has resulted in this.

In fact, it is obscene for such fools to be paid close to what they are paid for doing essentially nothing. In any other job, they would have been sacked long ago. But with their many instruments (state-owned media, ISA etc.) they've prevented their own sacking.

I find it digusting that our DPM claims that the government is shouldering the burden just because they lose 10% of their close to RM20k 'entertainment' allowance a month. I find it even more disgusting that no apology has been made for their complete incompetence, and that they find it perfectly okay for the rakyat to be burdened with their own misdeeds.

If these people (the ministers, etc) are honest in serving the rakyat, there is really no necessity for an ‘entertainment allowance’ for them. Contentment in heart through doing a good job is enough to give satisfaction to good souls.

No necessity for an ‘entertainment allowance’ at the rakyat’s expense. The rakyat go on their holidays, etc, out of their own pockets. Why can’t these people do the same? After all, they have opportunities to make big money (like it or not, they do use their clout).

If these ministers don’t like the idea of a zero entertainment allowance, they are welcomed to pack up and go. The rakyat do not really want them. Use the allowance and salary money to subsidise the fuel.

excerpts from Malaysiakini