PM and DPM's electricity bill enough to light a house for 100 years

Subject: 'PM and DPM's electricity bill enough to light a house for 100 years'

KUALA LUMPUR - Following details revealed in parliament about the high cost of maintaining the prime minister and his deputy's official residences, Rasah member of parliament Anthony Loke (pic) has done some maths to show what the sum means.

“The government paid RM160,000 for electricity and RM33,000 for water bill monthly for the official residences of prime minister and deputy prime minister.

"This is enough to pay my electricity bill for 100 years and water for 6,000 people,” he told a press conference at the parliament yesterday.

In a written reply to PAS's Rantau Panjang MP Siti Zailah Yusof, the government said some RM49 million was forked out annually to maintain the official residences now occupied by Najib Razak and Muhyiddin Yasin between 2006 and 2010.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz said the cost to maintain the duo's homes came to RM48,789,115.03, covering rent, renovations, electricity and water.

Giving a breakdown of the yearly costs, Nazri revealed that the rental for both buildings came to RM32,972,115.55, renovations RM3,581,744.78, electricity RM10,267,868.15 and water RM1,967,386.55.

The amount comes to an average of RM18,000 a day for the rental alone, paid by the government to Perbadanan Putrajaya.

Kota Raja MP Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud urged the government to justify the high cost of upkeeping the houses, saying it was ironic that such huge amount was spent to maintain the two houses when the government kept telling Malaysians to change their lifestyle in coping with rising prices of essential goods.

"When it comes to educating the public about savings, it should start with the leaders," she told reporters at the same press conference.


- Harakahdaily

Prime Minister and the 3 pillars of democracy

Mohd Ezam the turncoat has made public a letter purported to be from Anwar Ibrahim to Dr. Mahathir offering a message of love and gratitude to Dr. Mahathir a few days after Anwar Ibrahim was sacked as Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia by Dr. Ibrahim.

Anwar Ibrahim and responded with "So? What's the problem? Saya tak berdamai dengan siapa (Who am I not at peace with)? What is the problem? What is the problem in making peace with anyone?"

Source: Malaysiakini

I still have some lingering suspicions of Anwar Ibrahim. However, between BN (Barisan Nasional) and PR (Pakatan Rakyat or the People's Coalition comprising DAP, PKR and PAS), I would take PR anytime. My choice is based on this:

As long as PR can put in place a system of checks and balance between the 3 pillars of democracy - Executive (Prime Minister and the Cabinet), Parliament and Judiciary (the courts and the judges), the person acting as Prime Minister will become less important as currently as all his actions and decisions will be subject to checks and balance by the other 2 pillars of democracy - the Parliament comprising all the elected Members of Parliament and the Judiciary.

What I am looking forward to is a change of Federal Government and the new Federal Government put in this crucial check and balance and we need worry less on who the Prime Minister is as power will become less concentrated in the PM unlike the situation now even after the recent cosmetic reforms put in place by the current lame duck Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi.

Change Federal Government of Malaysia: Next step

It is now becoming clearer by the day. Abdullah Badawi said they have heard the message, but from their actions, they are still deaf. We are seeing how the BN (Barisan Nasional) Federal Government and its agencies are placing obstacles in the path of the PR (Pakatan Rakyat) controlled states by various means such as stopping funding to the state government agencies and channeling it via BN controlled bodies. The latest is the announcement by Noh Omar that the Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Ministry will stop disbursing development funds to the SEDCs (state economic development corporations) but channel them via MARA (Majlis Amanah Rakyat) instead. This was announced at the annual general meeting of the Perak chapter of the Malaysia Malay Chamber of Commerce.

Photo of Noh Omar courtesy of Malaysiakini, the real newspaper