Let me first appeal to your common sense. If a mansion was planned 10 years ago and completed seven years ago, wouldn't you have already had your accounts done by now, if not earlier? Shouldn't you have a very clear idea about how much it cost?

But it seems that common sense does not apply to the construction of Seri Perdana, the prime minister's official residence in Putrajaya.

There have been at least five versions of the construction cost. The earliest figure given by the government was in July 1998 when it was claimed that the "private quarters" of the home costs RM17 million.