I refer to the malaysiakini report; PM: I did not buy private jet. We all know that our prime minister doesn’t use his own money to buy a private jet for his own personal use. It is the government of Malaysia using the taxpayers hard-earned money that purchased the jet with all the trappings of elegance to be used for his trips.

I wonder if our top politicians know that a majority of Malaysians are living from hand to mouth everyday trying to make ends meet during these trying times. How could they in good conscience buy a private jet - which cost nearly US$55 million - to travel in style from one continent to another? Only a Third World country despot would use public funds to live a life like a king while his subjects suffer in a sea of poverty due to mismanagement of the economy.

For the prime minister to say that the government did not purchase the executive jet but is only leasing it from Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad is just pulling wool over the public’s eyes. It does not matter who purchased such a luxury jet; the bottom line is still that public funds were used for an extravagance.

And to say that the executive jet is not for his use alone but also for the King is just an excuse to shift the blame to another party.

While the common citizens have to ‘change their lifestyles’ to meet the rising cost of goods and services, our leaders seems to be on a spending spree to make their live more grand using public funds. While the elite and the connected live like kings and queens, after nearly 50 years of independence, the economic slice of the pie meant for the poor and downtrodden still hasn’t reached them yet to help them out of their cycle of poverty.

The recent devastating floods in Johor show that there are still pockets of poverty in that rich state, and heaven knows that the people there would like some help in rebuilding their homes and lives. Money spent there would be much better compared to money spent just so our leaders can travel in style.

Hopefully, the opposition will grill these leaders in Parliament to find out why on earth they need a new executive jet. To think that this news was only confirmed after it had been highlighted in the Internet doesn’t speak well of the transparency and accountability of our top leaders.