It is shameful if we continue to loot and then beg the international community for sustenance.
LAHORE: I read your report (September 29) on MPAs in Punjab demanding exemption from paying toll tax with a lot of dismay and sadness. The reason given by the provincial legislators, that they should receive the exemption because members of the National Assembly also receive it is even more reprehensible.
In Singapore, ministers drive their own cars and pay all tolls. Seeking exemptions on a flimsy plea of ‘privilege’ is one of the reasons for the downfall of our country. The institutions that should run on purely commercial basis have been completely denuded of all cash. The state is a beggar, all in the name of privilege. It is a bigger privilege to be a part of a self-respecting state where we pay taxes and for the services we use and it is shameful if we continue to loot and then beg the international community for sustenance.
Let us learn to stand upright. I call upon the authorities to withdraw all exemptions. Our authorities should take a leaf or two from Singapore which is a remarkable success story. There is only one secret: rule of law.
Sajjad Ashraf
(Former high commissioner of Pakistan to Singapore)
Published in The Express Tribune, October 2nd, 2010.
