So today's the last day of the so-called objection period to the hike, yet FT Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) have not given a single logical reason for the hike. All they have done is tell a string of nonsensical explanations that all contradict one another. Meaning, we still have no reasonable explanation for the hike. So who is crazy?

1. One, Tengku Adnan says he is doing KLites a favour, as we should be happy that our property values have gone up? That's sheer nonsense. The valuation is purely for tax purposes, and has no bearing on the sales value of our land. We do not use DBKL rate assessment for selling value estimates. Who are you trying to bluff?

2. Then he says the tax is meant to pay for DBKL maintenance services, if so then higher taxes for more expensive locations and lower rates for other locations, does not make sense. My tax for a single-storey terrace house is higher than that of my relatives who live in a double-storey house in Kepong.

But what difference does the location make to the services provided by DBKL? The drains are equally in bad shape, the roads are equally horrible, and the surroundings are poorly kept. Is my drain more expensive to maintain just because it's in a more expensive location?

We had been staying here for decades before the land became more expensive, but that has no bearing on our assumed 'wealth'. We are a middle-income family; we could not afford to buy the same house at today's prices. So why should we be paying more tax compared to those in less expensive areas?

Plus the fact that DBKL recorded a surplus last year, if I understand it correctly, makes this reason then complete nonsense.

3. Then he said it was to pay for our rubbish collection and for the planned incinerator in Kepong. Firstly, if there is a budget surplus last year, then how can the cost of collection of rubbish be justified? Were they NOT collecting all the rubbish last year?

And since the incinerator tender has not even been put out, why are we being taxed more next year for a project whose cost has not been finalised, and which won't be in operation until at least a few years more?

4. The first excuse given was that our valuation has not been increased for 20 years is no excuse to double or triple our taxes. You could argue the same about our income tax rates remaining more or less stable over the past decade. But what about stagnating income levels (only gone up one to two percent over the last ten years) and the falling ringgit (having gone down by at least 70 percent over the last 15 years)?

How does the government compensate us for that, because these must be factored into the perceived inflation in our property valuation to bring it up to real terms. Otherwise it's like saying I am a millionaire because I have 1 million rupiah.

5. Then he says the maintenance cost of KL has grown because of "development". Well, whose fault is that? As it is born and bred KLites aren't exactly thrilled with the overdevelopment of the city, the overcrowding and the destruction of forest reserves.

It is only the government, the cronies and the rich developers who are benefiting from this 'development'. So who should bear the cost for this increase, why not tax the developers for new development?

Why not put a halt on new development, if it is going to cost so much? If you are taxing us 100-200 percent more for development, then we should have a say whether we want it or not. Are you going to run it by us?

6. Above all, the quality of DBKL's services has been far satisfactory. Broken pavements, walkways, railings, etc, have not been mended for over a decade, if not more, and left to rot. Potholes are never properly mended.

The quality of road surfacing has deteriorated badly in the last five years. Roads paved 10 years ago are still solid today, but those paved last month are beginning to break apart, which says a lot about DBKL's deteriorating service level. With a surplus at hand, one can only guess it is not the cost that's the problem.

So with nonsensical excuse after nonsensical excuse the only impression I get is that Tengku Adnan has no real answer for us.

What now? For starters, you can show us publicly how you have spent your money and your projection for next year. Let private auditors go through your accounts and assure us the money has been properly spent and justified.

If not, why should we pay DBKL a sen more than what we are already paying?