In response to HJ Angus' letter , I can tell you why we need 27 ministers: so that we have more VVIPs and VIPs on whom to lavish pomp and pageantry.

As a Malaysian citizen with permanent residency in the United States, I make at least a one-month visit to my beloved home state Sarawak every year. Having lived 18 years in a society (the US) where most politicians are regarded as mere ordinary individuals elected to serve the people, I am continuously appalled and amazed by the elaborate pomp and pageantry accorded to even minor politicians in Sarawak. Friends from other Malaysian states tell me that this is an all-Malaysian practice. Notice the 'VVIP' and 'VIP' signs at Malaysian airports and their parking lots.

During an evening open-air cultural concert at a community festival I attended in a small rural Sarawak town, a special seating platform with a roof was built right smack in front of the stage, blocking the view of half of the 2,000-strong audience. This platform was build for minor state ministers and their wives, the mayor, and the local member of parliament.

The concert, which was supposed to start at 6pm according to the printed programme, didn't start until after 8pm. Around 7pm, the blaring horns and flashing lights of a motorcade could finally be heard from a distance. The crowds who had come to attend the concert had to make way for the throng of cars and SUVs. In each vehicle sat a minor politician or government official and his wife, driven by a uniformed white-gloved chauffeur.

After they were seated on cushy armchairs on their platform, long-winded speeches were made, interspersed by the exchange of gifts. Each VIP who spoke was introduced with his full title and a long narrative of all his accomplishments.

I could see that old and young people, particularly children who had come to see the concert were getting very restless and were complaining to one another. This was a standing room only outdoor concert; despite the drizzle, we had to stand for almost two hours before it started.

I have also witnessed the same elaborate ceremonies accorded to politicians in poor rural villages during official visits, or during election time. Usually, a temporary but elaborate arch is constructed over the road or by the river bank, bearing ' selamat datang ', the name of the politician, and a quote of some motto or saying.

The village craftsmen and artists would be required to volunteer their time to construct the arch or arches as sometimes one arch was considered insufficient. Elaborate decorations of colourful flags are strewn all over the village. Villagers would have spent many days in preparing for such an occasion, taking them away from work in the fields.

On the big day, they put on their best cultural costumes, school would be out for the day, and people line up in the hot sun along the road to the village to welcome the dignitaries. Mind you, sometimes children would faint, as they stand in the hot sun hours at a time, all in a row, in their school uniform, bearing little flags in their hands, waiting for the important person to arrive.

A feast is held in the VIP's honour, and gifts of some significance such as antiques or arts and crafts articles would be given to him. A friend of my family who was a member of parliament in the 1980s - but who fell from grace in the mid-1990s - has had to sell several such items that he had received as gifts when he was a politician, to make ends meet.

By the way, I make my living working for the state government in a mid-western US state. I cannot help but contrast the different treatment of politicians. The health department commissioner (equivalent to a Malaysian state minister of health) where I work does not even have her own reserved parking space, let alone a chauffeur. When she goes to cities or towns on official visits around the state, no one queues up on the streets or gets all dressed up for her. Instead, she just shakes hands with a few people and it is down to business, which usually includes addressing or dodging a barrage of questions from ordinary citizens.

Back home in Sarawak, I can see how politicians view themselves as rulers or above the law since we continue to treat them with such display of 'affection'. I once asked my father and his buddies, men in their early 60s who are staunch backers of the BN-led government, why it is so necessary to lavish pomp and pageantry on politicians when this is a great waste of money and time.

The answer I got was something like, first, it is our tradition and we like it, and anyway, we must treat them that way so they can bring 'development' to us. I started to say it shouldn't matter who gets elected or if the elected person is pampered or not, 'development' should be brought to any town or village that most needs it.

When they told me I was too 'Westernised' and disrespectful to my elders, I knew it was time to shut up.