10% entertainment allowance for RM500,000, what a deal! It is like winning a lottery.

The PM announced the austerity drive aimed at saving some RM2.0 billion. The measures were mooted by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who said that the government feels the pain of the people and wants to lead by example by pulling back several privileges enjoyed by ministers and their deputies.The cutback on perks includes a 10 percent reduction on entertainment expenditure for ministers and their deputies.If the PM had RM18,865 in entertainment allowance before, he can claim RM16,978.50 now.

After soem 2 hours of closed door meeting, the participants all came out smiling as if they struck lotteries. Then, the PM announced yesterday in Kuching that all the MPs in Sarawak would get additional RM500,000 grant each for their constituencies' development on top of the present RM 500,000 that they already have. On top of that all the BN State Assembly Members would get additional RM250,000 each as well. That means the MPS and the Aduns in Sarawak would get the windfall as if they strike lotteries when the people in the state suffer in vain. Now we all know what they did in the meeting, don't we?

So, the moral behind this is "complain and you wish would be granted" but this only apply to BN's YBs and not the ordinary folks. Maybe, just maybe the BN YBs would thank DAP Sarawak for our vocal opposition to the fuel price hike recently as well as the price hike of the rice in Sibu and they used these as the leverage and now all the MPs and Aduns are instant millionaire.

David Wong
11-06-2008