I am writing to appeal to the government to cancel the plans to build a new Istana Negara because in the light of leaks and collapses everywhere, we will need a lot of money for all the repair works in the new Istana in the coming years.

Let us appeal to the new Yang Di Pertuan Agong himself to tell the prime minister that the existing Istana Negara is good enough. We cannot afford another Istana Negara if huge repair costs are going to make a big dent in future budgets.

With the 'bocor' and collapsing ceiling cases everywhere, the prime minister himself has admitted that we are a first-class nation with third-class mentality. The government should cancel all unnecessary building projects unless repair jobs are to be made into a new cottage industry where Umno cronies can earn a good living doing more shoddy jobs.

It is a disgrace when new government buildings fall into disrepair very quickly while heritage buildings like the KL Railway Station, the Sultan Abdul Samad Building and the Jamek Mosque and classic buildings like the National Museum or the Maybank building need only regular maintenance works.

These buildings are going to be around for a long time to come. So why is it government buildings in Putrajaya, new hospitals, police stations and new schools are springing leaks with their ceilings collapsing and electrical installations failing?

The answer is very simple. They are built based on corruption as the main contractors are government, party or crony-linked companies. The various sub-cons are also of the same tribe. Many of these contracts are obtained based on 'direct-nego' whereby cost and schedule overruns are quietly settled.

Even if the projects are given to listed companies we all know that they are not quite kosher. A lot of hands and organisations have to be greased. The best example is the Matrade building. Who was the contractor? A Selangor state government company.

This Khairy Jamaluddin (the Son-in-Law) made me laugh when he wrote recently, lamenting about this problem of sub-standard construction, poor maintenance works, etc. As an Oxford graduate, he should investigate the root causes of all these problems like the background of those companies who got all these jobs.

Hopefully, he is not involved in any public projects through the office of his father-in-law, the prime minister. Or else his hands are equally dirty for this mess.