I refer to the letter Pak Lah in Wonderland .

I am just a working man in KL. Not a member of the government and nor do I have any vested interests but I feel the writer is out of touch with the reality in our midst.

  1. Subsidies cannot go on forever and the fuel price subsidy benefitted the better off more than the poor. Smugglers and other cheats who took advantage of the fuel subsidy are also from the rich.

It is my belief that the amount saved from the subsidy will go towards financing projects which would directly and indirectly help the poorer section of Malaysia in the mid- and longer-term. I would expect this to be apparent to the writer.

  • The writer asked about the Petronas' billions. Need it be mentioned that the country needs more than the Petronas' monies to finance development projects not only for this year alone but for every year. Not just the Petronas' money, but also money which the government can collect from other sources.

  • The country may not be broke but neither is the country rich because monies have in the past been squandered through subsidies which were misdirected, eg, the fuel subsidy. Contracts awarded through direct negotiations to cronies and friends and other forms of corruption are just the tip of the iceberg which has drained the financial resources of Malaysia.

  • I don't think Pak Lah has made himself a soft target and I don't think he had been misled either. He is just trying to right what is wrong and, of course, along the way there will be people who are affected and will feel disgruntled.

    • Malaysiakini can help the government to get rid of corruption. Push for lifestyle audit on people in positions of influence, big and small, in all departments, both the civil and private sector. Do Malaysia a favour.