YOURSAY 'Give a thought to those Malaysians who have difficulty putting food on the table. Just imagine the amount of food one can buy with RM2.2 million.'

PM: Would you prefer I dine by candlelight?

Slumdog: Now PM Najib Razak blames entertaining overseas dignitaries for the high cost of his residence's excessive electricity bills. If that is the best excuse he can come up with, I really don't think he is fit to hold the high office of PM.

The new Australian PM's official residence is currently under renovation. The PM has decided to stay with Australian Federal Police (AFP) recruits in a A$120-a-night flat while renovations are conducted at the prime minister's residence, The Lodge.

The modest and unusual accommodation, a red brick Australian Federal Police building close to Parliament, will feature a kitchenette and around-the-clock security from his AFP security officers and their junior colleagues.

Tony Abbott rejected the other options on offer: a A$3,000 a week rental in the nation's capital, Canberra. Can you ever imagine Najib ever doing something like this?

Fairplayer: I still think the RM2.2 million electricity bill is far too excessive and wasteful, regardless of Najib's argument.

Wouldn't it be fairer, and more prudent if the PM's official residence be allocated a fixed sum of, say 5,000 to 10,000, per month for utilities? Most of the poor don't even earn that much a year.

Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, should set the example of prudent spending and humble lifestyle to show their own patriotism before they call on the rakyat to be patriotic by paying taxes.

Doc: I think Najib assumes the general Malaysian folk are as stupid as his cabinet ministers. Is Najib wining and dining the Chinese premier every day to foot such a hefty electricity bill?

Secondly, why must we the people be patriotic to embrace GST (Goods and Services Tax) when the Umno leadership aren't patriotic enough to show accountability for the nation's money and indulge in appalling corrupt practices like it is their birth right.

Survivor: Najib, I can't say much about what you said. But I have this to say about paying taxes. In most country in which the government of the day is responsible, it is worth to be patriotic in paying taxes because such a government will put the monies to good use.

Whereas in Malaysia, a big portion of the taxes paid by the people is squandered by the Umno Baru government.

Pacific.rim: Dear Mr PM, if you could save half of the power bill then I say you are smart. But if you could use candlelight then I say you are super smart.

Why not look at alternatives like solar power or green building initiatives to save cost rather than another round of rhetoric to justify the extravagant spending of the government?

By the way, how many dignatories is the government hosting a year? By all means, please, cut government expenses, including the fees paid to Korean singer Psy and other K-pop stars.

Swipenter: Najib should not be engaging in cheap and shallow talk but instead do the opposite as expected of a leader of Bolehland.

1. If paying tax is seen as patriotic so why is Umno Baru always demonising the non-Malays as pendatangs and being not patriotic citizens since 80 percent of taxes collected are from them?

2. Can you answer why under your premiership, our national borrowings has gone up by leaps and bounds sounding off alarm bells among economists and international rating agencies alike?

You are perceived as the most spendthrift PM as well as the most careless and carefree with our national finance just to boost a populist image of yourself as PM without implementing concrete measures to plug leakages and curb massive corruption at the same time.

3. How much was the power bill of Seri Perdana under the previous prime minister? We need that for an apple and apple comparison.

Unmasked: Dear PM, whilst you dine in candlelight, give a thought to those Malaysians who have difficulty putting food on the table for their family. Just imagine the amount of food one can buy with RM2.2 million.

Vijay47: No, Mr Prime Minister, we do not expect you to dine by candlelight. I am sure that you and your dainty lady are doing it often enough at the Four Seasons along Park Avenue in New York or the Maison Blanche in Paris.

But we certainly do not expect you to light up your mansion and the entire neighbourhood like a football stadium whether you are hosting an official dinner or not.

I do not hope that you and that dainty lady will live life in moderation or even know what that is, certainly not when we peasants have to foot the bill but perhaps when you make your occasional visits to Malaysia you could pamper your elegant taste buds with some local cuisine.

In particular, there is a dish that the natives delight in and which you and your dainty lady of course are unfamiliar with. It is called sambal belacan.

Malaysians generally do not have a problem with paying tax, well, not too much of a problem anyway. What we do have a problem with big time is Umno politicians taking for themselves the bulk of our hard-earned tax money under some guise of contracts and advisory or consultancy fees.

Najib further went on to caution us about taking loans. What is so wrong about taking loans? You don't have to pay them back. Just ask any Umno member.

Abasir: This is a typical third world response from a third-rate politician with a second wife, a shady past and a multi-billion ringgit lifestyle supported by public funds.

For comparison with a first world country which is fully accountable to the people, the annual electricity bill at The Lodge (the PM's official residence in Canberra) ranges between RM108,000 to RM180,000 per annum.

Malaysia is truly on its way to a spectacular bankruptcy.

Was Rosmah patriotic when flying solo on private jet?

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