ANSWER first before pointing the finger - how was the money SPENT?

EVERYONE has an opinion on everything. It is his or her inherent and indisputable right. But opinions can differ and each will justify his or her stand with some facts and figures.

Sometimes, the opinions of the minority are suppressed by the voices of the majority and vice versa. After all, it is a land of free speech and as far as it does not impede on race or religion, it is fair dinkum, as the Aussies would say.

That is why the responses to the issue of the salary increase of elected representatives in Selangor should be closely followed. There's one school of thought which honestly believes that the increase for a sincere, corruption-free and clean government should be "recognised" by the people.

This argument is supplemented by claims that some of their predecessors, although drawing relatively small salaries, had their hands in all kinds of businesses and deals and enriched themselves.

It is a fact that in the past, some held directorships in state-owned companies and drew hefty allowances and enjoyed holidays together with their families. They gave contracts to friends, family and cronies and while publicly earning mere crumbs, were able to maintain lifestyles of the rich and famous.

Salary for all to see or allowing reps to help themselves to state kitty

Then there's the other side which feels that the salaries are exorbitant and do not commensurate with the post and responsibilities.

Those in this side claim the ruling party is hypocritical – objecting to the increase for parliamentarians and at the same time allowing state representatives to help themselves to the kitty.

Besides, land was alienated to their families and the celebrated case of the palatial home of Zakaria Mat Deros comes to mind. His wife was alienated the land which was meant for low-cost housing and yet, the same people who refused to utter a word then have pushed their "speak up" button now, sitting on high horses and claiming to be whiter than white.

Healthy debate

It is a healthy debate and some sections of the media have taken a stand and it augurs well that at last there is some modicum for demand of accountability of public funds. Some have complemented their arguments by producing comparison charts.

While supporting such healthy debate on public spending, one has to wonder if there are different standards for different people. The deafening silence to issues which have been raised by this newspaper and its writers indicate that there is lack of consistency when it comes to accountability.

Unhealthy corruption

For example, there has been hardly a whimper on the issue of the former tourism minister racking up a RM2.71 million bill for overseas trips between 2010 and January this year. Neither has there been any reaction to the case of the missing RM3.8 million from the accounts of the Paralympics Council of Malaysia.

Recently, the ceiling of the Serdang Hospital collapsed – the fourth such incident in two years. And the cost of "rehabilitation and repairs" is estimated at RM30 million. Yet, no one raised a stink about the expenditure and that kind of money could be used to build a small hospital in a rural area.

Before that, the Health Ministry parted with almost RM400 million meant for the Shah Alam Hospital. The original contractor apparently "bolted with the dough" and another round of payments has been made to a different contractor.

About RM20 million allocated for the "Road to London Olympics" has not been accounted for. Despite the former sports minister giving an assurance of disclosure, he was overruled by the director of the National Sports Council (NSC). Do we know how the money was spent? Was it for the vacationing NSC officials or for genuine training expenses? It continues to remain a mystery.

The list is endless and each time some figure comes out in answer to a question in Parliament, the members in that august house seem to be oblivious to the fact they have to demand for validation with good reasons.

The list of unaccounted expenditure runs into billions, and yet all hell has broken loose because there has been an increase in the salaries of lawmakers.

Millions have been squandered with no one wanting to justify or account for the expenditure. The cry for justification, reasoning and rationalisation must be demanded when public money is used. The clamour for accountability must bellow from every stomach on every occasion – not just the pay rise of a few. What is good for the goose, must be good for the gander. - The Sundaily