AND THE PEOPLE HAVE TO PAY GST! Each trip Najib & Co take on govt plane costs RM500k

The nation’s top leaders spent almost half-a-million ringgit for each trip they took using the government's private planes last year, a DAP lawmaker revealed today.

Seremban MP Anthony Loke told reporters that in 2012, a whopping RM182 million was spent on 372 flights to 339 destinations, using the six private planes belonging to the government,

Loke was referring to a written reply he received from Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim on the expenditure incurred by the government in the usage and maintenance of the planes.

Fly each day? And even for domestic travel

Of the RM182 million, fuel cost RM14,951,448.04 while maintenance cost RM167,079,541.80.

"This is another form of wastage by the government who does not want to reduce its expenditure despite telling the people to do so.

"Did the Prime Minister and his deputy fly everyday? The records seems to indicate so," said Loke at the Parliament lobby today.

He questioned the need for both leaders to continually use the private planes even for domestic travel, pointing out that it was cheaper to take a commercial flight.

"Even if they took business or first class, it would have still been cheaper,” he added.

Loke however said it was proper if the jets reserved for VVIPs were used by the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong.

He added the "colossal wastage" showed that the Barisan Nasional government was not walking the talk by prioritising the people's needs.

"They ask people to save and take away all kinds of subsidies and they spend the nation's resources lavishly like this.

"BN has always thought of the nation's funds as party funds.

"The subsidies of both the PM and DPM should be reduced first, then only talk about the people's," said Loke.

Even leaders of advanced nations travel on commercial flights

PAS leader Datuk Mahfuz Omar, who was also present at the press conference, described the revelation as “shocking”.

The Pokok Sena MP pointed out that during the recent Sungai Limau by-election campaign, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had made repeated trips to Kedah using an executive jet.

"This is not right as his trips were for election, not government programmes. So how can he abuse state funds like this?" he asked.

"Even leaders in countries more advanced than ours use commercial flights to travel."

The revelation follows a parliamentary reply received by Loke last week on the utility bills for the official residences of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, amounting to more than RM3.5 million last year.

Loke had then chided Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for not practising prudence.

"There does not seem to be any effort on the establishment's part to reduce government spending," he had said.

Shahidan in justifying the utility bills, said the amount covered the entire Seri Perdana Complex, and not just the residence.

"This included the multi-purpose hall and the staff quarters on the premises,” he had explained.

TMI