KUALA LUMPUR — The government only spent 27%, or RM1.67 million, of total costs for the Prime Minister’s recent official working visits to several countries, said government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil.
Fahmi, who is also the Communications Minister, added that private sector representatives who accompanied the prime minister paid 73% of the total cost, which amounted to RM4.5 million.
“The business delegation that accompanied Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on his working visit to several countries was fully self-funded.
“The total cost of chartering the MAS Airbus A350 aircraft was RM6.162 million, of which the Malaysian government paid RM1.662 million for the official delegation, representing 27%, while the business delegation covered 73% of the cost.
“It is important to clarify that the government paid for the Prime Minister’s flight. The Prime Minister was not funded by any company.
“What happened was that, with the chartered aircraft, the government found that there were savings compared to existing aircraft, which could cost up to RM2.5 million, meaning there was a saving of over RM900,000,” he said at a press conference in Putrajaya today.
Elaborating further, Fahmi, who is also the Minister of Communications, said that accommodation, food and transportation costs for government officials are managed either by the government or event organisers such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) and the Group of 20 (G20) Summit.
“So there is no issue of accommodation, food and drink (and) flights, it is not borne by the companies. These companies have intentions for investment purposes in the country.
“(It) reflects the strong interest of Malaysian companies in trade and investment opportunities in the countries and regions visited.
“Like Petronas, which has investments of up to US$6 billion in Brazil, they participated in the delegation but paid for their own tickets.
“So with this special charter strategy, there are savings on the government’s side of almost RM900,000,” he said.
Anwar, during the Prime Minister’s Question Time (PMQT) session in the Dewan Rakyat recently, explained that around 70% to 80% of the cost of recent official trips and visits to five countries was borne by private companies.
Previously, Anwar made a working visit to China from 4 to 7 November at the invitation of his counterpart Li Qiang to attend the seventh China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai.
After that, the Prime Minister made visits to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Peru and Brazil, starting from 9 November to 19 November.
The 11-day visit to the four countries was fully utilised to strengthen strategic cooperation and generate significant investment potential for Malaysia.
As part of the visit, Anwar led the Malaysian delegation, including to the 31st APEC Economic Leaders’ Week (AELW) in Peru and the G20 in Brazil.
Meanwhile, when asked about the presence of former PKR vice-president and Anwar’s daughter, Nurul Izzah Anwar at official events with the Prime Minister abroad, Fahmi said:
“I did not join the visit, but I have looked into the slander and malicious accusations of various parties.
“I have received confirmation from the Prime Minister’s Press Secretary that (the presence of) Nurul Izzah and the Chairman of ISIS Malaysia, Datuk Prof Dr Mohd Faiz Abdullah, were both at the invitation of the organisers.
“Nurul Izzah was invited, among other reasons, because the Prime Minister’s wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail did not join this delegation.
“She was invited as director of Seri (Social & Economic Research Initiative) and the invitation was extended by the organisers,” he said. – November 22, 2024