I had thought that extreme pomp and pageantry and outrageous luxurious living were synonymous with the bygone era of the imperial past. Apparently this is not so. Flaunting of wealth and obscene opulent living are still very much alive among the rich and the powerful today.

We would have thought the world has become more equal with democracy and freedom. We would have thought the rich and the powerful are now more sensitive to the needs of others. Apparently we are still far from it.

The first issue is affordability. How could the rich and the powerful afford so much? Just look at the mansions, palaces, resorts, special furbished planes, fleets of luxurious cars, sumptuous dinners, and the indulgences in shopping, pomp and pageantries.

Once I was overwhelmed that a dinner for 20 persons cost more than RM700,000 in Singapore. I think that dinner is now ‘chicken feed’ if we look at the interior of luxurious planes or the shopping sprees indulged by some of those rich and powerful.

How could they have amassed so much for themselves? As a leader, he must have taken the nation’s wealth for himself. As a businessman, he must have made too much at the expense of others.

However, the issue at hand is bigger than affordability. It is also about the use of resources and being sensitive to the needs of others.

Is it conscionable for the rich and powerful to furbish another luxurious plane when half of their people are living without clean water? Is it acceptable for the rich and powerful to add another mansion or palace when many of their people are without proper housing or means of livelihood? How much really is enough for these people?

I notice that the rich and powerful are not feeling embarrassed of their extravagance any more. Instead, they are flaunting their wealth and subtly competing among themselves who is the richest and the most powerful of all. The irony is that the poor and the helpless are looking at all this with admiration and awe, not with indignation and resentment.