THE reported purchase of a RM458,000 Mercedes-Benz S560e by Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow recently is disappointing because his action mirrors that of leaders of such states as Kedah and Kelantan, who also have similar passion.

In fact, it is most disheartening that Chow, like his counterparts in those states, chose to acquire the luxury car at a time when many people in the state are struggling to make ends meet in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is immaterial that the approval for the purchase was made in late 2019 and that it was bought at a discount of RM128,000.

This is primarily because, as asserted by many shocked social media users, the Penang government has largely been held all this while in high regard.

It has always appealed to Penangites as well as outsiders as a state government that is accountable and transparent for the overall benefit of the ordinary people.

You would expect the Penang state government to provide a good example to other states in the federation and at the same time occupy the moral high ground – and not morphed into a copycat of the state leaders concerned.

Such financial indiscretion raises the question of a leader’s priorities as well as sensitivity towards the plight of the poor and desperate.

There are people who have been made jobless and penniless by the pandemic.

It is as if these leaders are living in their respective comfortable bubbles, disconnected from the rest of society, which concerned Malaysians desperately hope is not the case.

While the economic condition of Penang is generally far better than, say, that of Kelantan, it, nonetheless, warrants the state government to exercise restraint in spending to fully demonstrate its empathy and concern towards the less fortunate in Penang.

In Kelantan, where the state government spent RM3.5 million of taxpayers’ money on 14 Mercedes-Benz cars for its state government leaders last year, seven districts in the state were identified as the poorest areas in the country by the then-deputy rural development minister Sivarasa Rasiah in 2019.

This social distortion should prick our collective conscience.

This is, of course, a stark contrast to the simple lifestyle that the late Tok Guru Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat led when he was the Kelantan menteri besar.

The revered leader was indeed a hard act to follow for most of our political leaders.

Nor do we expect them to emulate former president of Uruguay Jose Mujica, who was regarded as “the world’s humblest head of state” due to his austere lifestyle and his donation of about 90% of his US$12,000 (RM48,400) monthly salary to charities that benefit poor people and small entrepreneurs.

By the way, he drives a 1987 Volkswagen Beetle – even when he was occupying the top job in the land.

The point here is that public funds must be prioritised for the benefit of the ordinary folk, especially those in dire straits.

If anything, the economic woes of the ordinary people should remind political leaders in general that the positions they occupy are meant to serve the rakyat. They should go into high gear to achieve this goal. – January 9, 2021.