Window dressing – Tay Tian Yan

Perakan di Jalan Raja Laut menuju ke Dataran Merdeka.

Perakan dari Masjid Jamek ke Dataran Merdeka.

Bila tidak ada gangguan, peserta boleh santai.

Beberapa peserta veteran berihat.

Bila perarakan aman polis juga tidak tertekan, rileks.

Sepuak Unit Amal Malaysia bersiap mengawal keadaan.

Jalan Raja Laut padat dengan peserta Turun.

Pemandangan ini di hadapan pusat membeli belah Sogo.

Finally, the soundproof Putrajaya begins to hear the outside voices, and has come up with unimpressive 11 austerity measures.

What austerity measures?

Cutting back 10% of ministers' entertainment allowances, 5% of government department electricity bills, 30% of senior civil servants' highway toll subsidies... and the adoption of the "national blue ocean strategy"?

But, is anything being saved at all?

By cutting back 10% of ministers' entertainment allowances, they may now go for Angus beef, which is 10% cheaper but tastes just as good as Kobe beef.

By cutting back 5% on electricity bills, Putrajaya's offices are still very cold, and by cutting back 30% of toll subsidies for senior civil servants, members of the public can only keep their fingers crossed that highway tolls do not go up too much.

Perhaps Putrajaya has tried to show some kind gesture of going through the thick and thin with the masses.

But, from the first measure to the eleventh, they are more likely designed for window dressing than bringing any actual benefit to the public, especially the last "blue ocean strategy" which really takes on the look of a New Year’s gift wrapper!

Malaysians feel that they are living in the "red ocean" instead of Putrajaya's "blue ocean."

The austerity measures proposed by Putrajaya would not fatten the national coffers any bit, and will not make the public live a little more comfortably.

Instead of cutting back on the ministers' entertainment allowances by 10%, why not just abolish the vehicle AP's of the privileged few?

Instead of reducing the electricity bills of government offices by 5%, why not rationalise TNB's profitability and bring down the rate of the electricity tariff hike?

Instead of trimming the highway toll subsidies of senior civil servants by 30%, why not review the contracts signed with highway concessionaires?

Just as many middle- and low-income families suffocate under the rising costs of houses, cars, tolls, electricity tariff and what not, the government's 'subsidy rationalisation" rationale is anything but convincing.

While "subsidy rationalisation" is indeed necessary to fix the country's public debts and deficits, it should be implemented on the basis of sound resource and expense management.

What I'm trying to say is that the government should do more than just this to show that it stands alongside the people in hard times. It must at least exhibit some genuine sincerity.

When not long ago the Selangor state government wanted to increase the salaries and perks of senior officials by 300% and when the public went up in protest, some of the beneficiaries started to cry foul as if they had been unduly wronged, arguing that if Sarawak could offer the increment why couldn't they?

And while some could have big diamond rings, why couldn't I?

If you know someone has not done it right, can you justify yourself by doing the same thing?

If you must compare yourself with something, then be it the people on the street. When most people can only look forward to 3% increments in the new year, what justifies you to a three-fold increase? Are you not elected by the public and are duty-bound to them?

More amusingly, the chief minister of Penang, who is often seen as being one with the people, and who has just written in a special column last week that he would only take the economy class when flying, suddenly changed his still quite new Camry for a Mercedes S-Class.

Although the Merc S-Class enjoys tax relief, isn't that tax relief eating into the benefits of ordinary citizens?

The price gap between a Camry and an S-Class is about RM200,000, compensable only with several hundred economy flights!

Again, the outward economy flights will not conceal the luxurious comfort of cruising in an S-Class. – mysinchew.com,