An Umno leader has taken PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli to task, schooling him for wasting time on perceived or imagined wrongdoings of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife, when his own constituency of Pandan is in want of service.

Cheras Umno chief Syed Ali Alhabshee sniped that Rafizi's lack of understanding on protocols when exposing his so-called allegations that Rosmah Mansor misused a government private jet was proof the MP was not as smart as he was seen to be.

"When an elected representative cannot differentiate between the needs of a leader on official visits involving national interests, it means that he or she is not so smart," he said in a blog post.

Syed Ali added that an elected representative who understood tge trust and responsibility he or she held to the public would give undivided attention and work hard to take care of the interests of the constituents, instead of running around spreading slander.

He advised Rafizi to "return" to Pandan and help the people there.

"But unfortunately, the Pandan elected representative is so bad at giving service to the voters in the constituency, but is instead running around looking for perceived wrongs involving Umno leaders, particularly the PM and his wife," noted the veteran leader.

Syed Ali lamented what he claimed was Rafizi's propensity for conjuring allegations and passing them out as facts, thus distorting public perception.

He argued that Rosmah's use of the government jet was proper as it befitted her stature as the PM's wife

"As the prime minister's wife, Rosmah is qualified as protocol dictates," he said.

What more, Syed Ali said, Rosmah's tight schedule which required her to attend two events of national interest made it necessary that she be accorded the swift mobility of a government jet.

Yesterday, while campaigning in the twin Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections, Rafizi exposed what he claimed was yet another instance of Rosmah using a private jet paid for by the government as a means of personal conveyance on her overseas trips.

The PM's wife had flown on a jet rented by the Malaysian government on her Istanbul trip to collect an award for the child-enrichment programme Permata, which she heads.

Her aide Rizal Mansor had defended her use of the jet, explaining that after her trip to pick up the award, Rosmah had to rush home for an event graced by the Raja Permaisuri Agong.