Explanation needed from Selangor Exco - Why Renovate? Why Spend So Much?

I was disturbed by the amount of monies that have been expended by the Pakatan Rakyat Selangor State Exco members for 'office renovations' - some having spend monies that could have build a few lost cost homes.

Logically, the offices were already there most probably with the necessary furniture, etc - so why was so much money spend for renovations? Please explain more and justify this expenditure...A renovation expenditure of RM5,000 may be justified - but this really is too much...surely these monies could have been better spend. Is there no check and balance to prevent such excess spending? We are all geared up to kick out the BN - for their excesses...and now it saddens me when this Pakatan Rakyat is also spending wastefully the people's money..Please explain. Who approved it?

Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim said today former exco member Hasan Ali had spent more than his colleagues for the renovation of his office.
 

Revealing this in the Selangor assembly in Shah Alam, Khalid said Hasan’s expenditure topped the list at RM329,000, followed by Ean Yong Hian Wah at RM 146,000 and Rodziah Ismail at RM119,000.

Other exco members listed included Xavier Jeyakumar (RM70,000), Ronnie Liu (RM53,000), Yaakob Sapari (RM32,000), Teresa Kok and Elizabeth Wong (under RM25,000) and Iskandar Abdul Samad (RM21,000).

This flies in the face of Hasan's defence yesterday that his colleagues Xavier and Halimah Ali had spent significantly more than him to renovate their offices.

On the same day Jeyakumar denied the allegation while Halimah clarified that her office had never been renovated.
 

However, Khalid reiterated that the spending by Hasan was according to procedure and urged the House not to dwell on the matter.

"When he left as exco member, those assets remained with the government, so there is no need to question further," he said.

Aside from this, Hasan yesterday clarified two other allegations against him, on excessive spending for a conference and for not implementing open tenders for the routine road maintenance jobs of the Public Works Department.

Hasan said the RM550,000 spent on the conference included expenses for other programmes that had been approved by the state government, while the move not to implement open tender had been approved by the state treasury.

However, Khalid said Hasan did not obtain through proper means the approval from the state treasury not to implement open tender for routine road maintenance jobs in Selangor.

Hasan ali pc"We found that Hasan did not perform his duties as he should have, by not adhering to procedures on good governance.

"To receive approval, he must get it from the state financial officer. But he got it from a lower ranked officer from the treasury, which is not according to procedure," Khalid said.

Only the menteri besar or the state financial officer, he added, could approve any move on expenses that was contrary to state policies.

The allegations against Hasan, who was dismissed as an exco member after he was sacked by his party, PAS, were first levelled by Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyperson Azmin Ali.

Hasan has since gone on the offensive against Azmin, who is also PKR deputy president, making a series of old allegations against him.- Malaysiakini, 27/3/2012, Hasan Ali's renovation costs highest, says MB