MP SPEAKS Our prime minister is also our finance minister. So whatever the government headed by the prime minister who is the nation's leader decides should not be a cause for any confusion, right?

Unfortunately, that is not the case.

In the KLIA2 dispute now, some strange noises are coming out as if from a broken jet engine.

The statement from the MAHB managing director that KLIA2 is not a low-cost terminal seemed to have shocked most people except us... opposition parliamentarians!

We had asked for answers in Parliament why a budget terminal originally supposed to cost RM1.7 billion had rocketed to RM4 billion.

Nobody from the government seemed to care or bothered to give a satisfactory explanation.

The building which was originally supposed to be two-storey high became five. The floor area increased tremendously to become a sprawling shopping complex.

We questioned in Parliament why the airport was moved from the original site in the north, which had firm hard ground, to the problematic west ground, which is soft and swampy.

As a result, the earthwork cost escalated from about RM35 million to RM860 million and the costly ground settlement problems continue until today.

Little wonder it finally costs RM4 billion and can no longer be considered a low-cost terminal. But... the government still insists it is a low-cost terminal.

But now the MAHB managing director contradicts the government by confirming it is not a low-cost terminal. No wonder the rakyat are confused and fed up.

Malaysians are confused and appalled

We can understand Tony Fernandes' frustration in trying to bring in more tourists into Malaysia with AirAsia and the government's incoherent policy and equally irresponsible wasteful spending at the rakyat's expense.

Tony's "Frankenstein" description of KLIA2 is appropriate since nobody is sure what this "monster" is supposed to be... a budget or non-budget terminal.

If MAHB's latest statement that it is not a low-cost terminal is true, then what are all the low-cost airlines doing there?

Malaysians are confused and appalled by all these arguments and wasteful spending.

What is very clear is that there seems to be virtually no cost and quality control in the construction of KLIA2 in critical areas.

The costs that exploded from the initial RM1.7 billion to RM4 billion was already shockingly poor budget management.

The unexplainable move to construct it on problematic land area, which caused the earthwork alone to increase from RM35 million to an incredible RM860 million, is scandalous.

The most shocking thing is that we are continuously paying for perpetual repair works on the runway-apron area that is also dangerous to moving aircrafts and causing high risks of fuel leakages to spill over onto the surface of the apron areas.

Perhaps MAHB's statement that it is not a low-cost terminal is an understatement.

The original cost had ballooned up and today, years after completion, we tax payers are still paying for ongoing repairs.

Perhaps Tony should change AirAsia's tag line of "now everyone can fly" to... "now everyone can cry".

As far as the cost is concerned, it is up, up and away and the sky is the limit!

Does anyone know what accountability is supposed to mean?

RAJA KAMARUL BAHRIN SHAH RAJA AHMAD is Amanah's Kuala Terengganu MP.