YOURSAY | Najib, very magnanimous of you to reject the offer

YOURSAY | 'Serving the nation is a privilege, not a means to enrich oneself.'

Najib 'rejects' RM100 million housing, says priority is the rakyat

Bruclax: No doubt leaders who have served the nation and its people well do need to be taken care of. They must be given all opportunities to live comfortably till their end of days. It is only in underdeveloped countries where millions are spent to reward ex-leaders.

Wikipedia outlines the benefits former presidents of the United States are entitled to. There is no such nonsense as an RM100 million property entitlement. One wonders where the powers-that-be come up with such ludicrous practices.

Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman had raised this matter on a number of occasions. Only one word is required to describe these perks – ‘sinful’.

The retired leader of Germany, Angela Merkel, gets a pension of roughly 15,000 euro a month. In addition, she qualifies for personal security and an official car with a driver for the rest of her life. She is given an office in the Bundestag with three staff.

The world marvelled at this leader who lived a simple life (in a two-bedroom apartment) even as chancellor. Such characteristics are unheard of in Malaysia and going by several reports, it is too painful to read what our politicians earn while in and out of office.

Serving the nation is a privilege, not a means to enrich oneself. Just pause for a moment and reflect on the goings-on in our beloved Malaysia. Constant infighting and jostling for positions. Dissolving the state assembly during a pandemic without an iota of consideration for the safety of the rakyat nor how such a move would cause considerable damage to the state coffers and the economy.

For what? Positions! If we think it was for the love to serve the state or its people, then we are sadly mistaken. It is for money and power. Corruption is the other. It has become entwined in our culture.

In all the excitement of leaders getting charged for corruption and some even convicted of the crime, has any of them served a day in jail?

The only lesson that the young in Malaysia are exposed to is that 'crime pays' in Bolehland. Convicted criminals are chauffeur driven - and mind you, with security personnel - going from place to place with some even having the privilege of travelling overseas.

We see corruption charges dropped for reasons at best unacceptable. Enforcement agencies responsible for law and order ignore directives from the court, exhibiting total disregard for the laws in the country.

We now wonder where Malaysia is heading to. We used to joke about banana republics in some parts of Africa, where such atrocities occur on a daily basis. It is no more a laughing matter as such atrocities are at our doorstep.

Pray for Malaysia, for only divine intervention is going to put Malaysia back on the right track.

Cyclonus: Former premier Najib Abdul Razak, you rejected the offer? That is so magnanimous of you.

If the people are facing tough times as you said, then why did you claim this RM100 million "entitlement" in the first place? Furthermore, this issue only became controversial because a convicted criminal who allegedly stole billions from Malaysia had the audacity to claim an entitlement for ex-PMs.

Sir, you are one special human being. No one can ever measure up to you.

Sun: Indeed, this is very noble of you, Najib.

First, all entitlements for past prime ministers (police escorts, pensions, houses, etc.) were premised on the belief that they had retired after rendering some useful service to the nation.

A corrupt, convicted PM was never foreseen when such privileges were provided for. On that count alone, your so-called "entitlement" is zero, zilch.

Second, your argument that the government did not have to fork out RM100 million to meet your request is puerile.

We're taxpayers - not government. The government is a postman. It collects from the rakyat and spends, hopefully, on behalf of the rakyat - the government gives up land to meet your request, they are forgoing revenue of RM100 million (or more) that could have been used for better purposes.

Your time pursuing an economics course at Nottingham University appears to have gone to waste. In Economics 101, they would have taught you that there is no such thing as a free lunch.

However, I support your call to abolish these privileges. I cannot see very many past or future PMs deserving such privileges. Besides, if I can't get it, why should others get it, eh Najib? A slight sour grape whiff is in the air, but I will ignore that.

Geram: Najib said he "rejected" the offer for the sake of the people. Really Najib? Please, for the sake of the people, return all the monies you allegedly stole from us.

IndigoToucan1627: Reject what offer? The last we heard of it was you applied for the RM100 million house and land and the cabinet was considering it. How can you reject an offer that has not been made? Besides, you applied for it!

Now you are using this expose and tried to turn it to your advantage. We can all see through you, Najib. It just shows how greedy you are and how unrepentant you are for the harm you have done to the country.

OceanMaster: By twisting and turning his words, Najib again tries to paint a picture of an innocent person. He and his lawyers do the same with his court cases.

Well, he is not bothered about the rest of Malaysians but only the group he continues to draw support from - the gullible who have no idea who this monster really is.

Kim Quek: It is apparent that, without the current interference by Parliament, the Ismail Sabri Yaakob government would have given the multi-million property (a house on a 1.1 hectare, or 120,000 sq ft, of premium land) to Najib.

This implies that the government is anticipating that Najib will soon be a free man to enjoy this unprecedented privilege, despite his current conviction and the ongoing mountain of multi-billion corruption charges against him.

This also confirms that the present government is morally bankrupt that it should shower such a high-value gift on a convicted criminal who has scandalised the country with the world’s largest theft of government funds.

GrayFalcon6142: Take a look at the last paragraph of the Malaysiakini news report:

“The housing entitlement for ex-prime ministers was reportedly based on a cabinet decision made in May 2003, five months before Mahathir retired from his first tenure as premier.”

Why was it introduced? Did Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi get anything from it? Will Muhyiddin Yassin and Ismail Sabri Yaakob also be entitled to get it?

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