'The proceeds from the sale of T'ganu's new Mercedes-Benzes could be used to build clinics in rural areas. The benefits would far outweigh the losses.'

On Mercedes Benz 2008 Classic Flip Flop

Peter Ooi: The PM's decision to allow the Terengganu government to continue using the Mercedeses goes on to show one thing - Pak Lah does not stand by the set principles.

It was clearly spelt out by Shahrir that excos are allowed the use of Perdanas only. Ahmad Said knowingly went against this regulation by purchasing those expensive cars.

Like a father would a son when the latter breaks a rule, Pak Lah should discipline the MB. Instead, the Trengganu government is allowed to keep the cars.

The excuse given by Pak Lah was even more comical. He claimed that since the cars were already paid for, the government would lose money if they were sold off.

His solution was simple, reflecting Pak lah's mentality.

Losing some money on disposing those cars is actually a small price to pay for the mistake. As the Chinese believe, ‘To redeem one's honour, a person is willing to lose any amount of money'.

Then it was reported that the cars could be used to ferry VVIPs visiting Terengganu. How laughable a suggestion that was!

Firstly, let me ask, how often VVIPs visit Terengganu in a year? Maybe during Monsoon Cup, when the rich and famous convene in Terengganu to be entertained by the government.

Oops! Are those guests really under the VVIP list? Are they in the class of Condoleeza Rice?

Secondly, keeping the cars for the said purpose would incur more losses than disposing of the cars right now.

The proceeds of the sale could be kept in a bank for interest, or profit in case of Islamic banking.

Maybe it could be used to build clinics in rural areas. The benefits would far outweigh the losses.

Another flip-flop a la Pak Lah.

Name Of Justice: On the surface it is a flip-flop decision by the PM.

But I am going to give the PM some credit this time around by saying that he actually had no choice but to approve the Mercedeses for Terengganu's councillors' use.

You see, the energy with which Najib, the PM, and the rest of the former Terengganu BN folks are coming after the menteri besar of Trengganu is laced with suspicions of an ‘I'm-gonna- get-you' campaign.

After all, he is only an anak angkat , not favoured to take the helm of the MB-ship.

And yet, the loud-mouthed, gung-ho, take-no-prisoner MB is pursuing his own campaign of retaliation. ‘You get me, I am gonna get you too.'

This is evident with the MB highlighting the high Perdana V6 maintenance costs, both specific to Terengganu and in general (nationally) as it was reported that the maintenance cost of the entire fleet of Perdana V6s for all federal ministers was excessively high.

So my hunch is that Abdullah had to back down to avoid more dirty linen coming out in the press form the self-styled Terengganu MB.

The PM had more to lose. Each side of the fence had to protect their skeletons from being exposed from the closet.

Thana: I have a conspiracy theory. Our Ahmad Abdullah Badawi, who frequently questions how ‘Bad are we?', is staying true to his name.

What better way to remove Tun M out as the Proton advisor than to start smearing Proton's name?

I mean, how can the government pass a statement that Perdanas are not reliable and this is expected to have no effect on Proton as a company?

After close to 12 years on the road, Perdana is now a non-reliable car. How I wish our PMs, past and present, would stop playing the dirty game they call politics.

Habib RAK: The Terengganu MB says the Perdana will be used by other departments and that he and his excos will use the Mercedes.

The PM and DPM say that they want the excos to continue to use the Perdanas, while the Mercs are only to be used by visiting dignitaries.

How they allow themselves to make such silly and shameful statements is beyond me.

The key justification made by the MB is that it costs too much to maintain the Perdanas, and as such, he decided to buy Mercedeses.

Now, instead of scrapping the Perdanas or selling them for salvage, he wants other departments to use, and continue to run up the maintenance costs! Are these people for real?

It's scary that they are running the state and our beloved nation. God, please help us.

Michael Ng : I am disappointed with the prime minister's decision that the Terengganu state government be allowed to keep the 14 Mercedes-Benzes purchased with public funds for the use of visiting VVIPs in the state.

Even if there were VVIPs visiting the state, do they really need a fleet of Mercedes-Benzes to ferry them around? I would think one or two of them would more than suffice.

Those remaining should be sold off, even at a loss (which can't amount to much, as these cars are brand new with low mileage). Keeping them any longer will definitely incur further cost to the taxpayers.

Now, it has been reported that the ACA seized eight of the Proton Perdanas used by the state exco members and has given them the opportunity to continue using the Mercedes E200 Kompressors.

Instead of worrying if the ACA investigations could link them or their subordinates to any shady deals, these ‘lucky' eight exco members are using the seizure of their official cars as an excuse to continue using a taxpayer-funded Mercedes to perform their official duties.

If I had my way, I would rather see these exco members take a bus or a taxi to their destinations instead of getting their hands onto something that they are not entitled to in the first place.

Raptor 22: If there's any politician out there who thinks only of the rakyat , than even a Perodua Viva will serve their purpose.

If they are really born to serve the rakyat , then they will even not hesitate to use a kap chai to serve the rakyat . That is the true politician who really thinks of the people.

Zaccheww:

This totally contradict with the ‘advertisement' launched by the federal government asking the rakyat to change from using a car to public transport.

I totally feel that the government has lost their sense of direction.