KUALA LUMPUR – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has described the criticism over the cost of his recent overseas delegation as ‘madness’ or ‘partial insanity’.
Anwar reiterated that the private companies accompanying his recent trip had fully funded their own expenses.
“The companies that joined the delegation, such as Proton, Petronas, Yinson, Sapura Energy, Top Glove, and semiconductor firms, participated in the trip with the potential to invest or seek investments. They paid their own travel costs,” he said.
“Is that wrong? This country seems to glorify thieves, robbers, and swindlers, but when we try to run a programme cleanly, we’re attacked.”
“This is the era of madness…partial insanity,” he added during the ‘town hall’ session of the Madani Two-Year Programme (2TM) and the 2024 National Civil Service Reform Convention at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) today.
Also present at the event were Deputy Prime Ministers Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
Yesterday, government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil stated that the government covered 27% or RM1.662 million of the total cost for the chartered flight used for the official trip, while the business delegation paid 73% of the total, amounting to RM4.5 million.
“The business delegation, which participated in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s recent official trip to several countries, fully funded their own expenses,” Fahmi said.
During the Prime Minister’s Questions Time (PMQT) in Parliament recently, Anwar explained that about 70 to 80% of the expenses for his official trip to five countries were borne by the private companies accompanying the delegation.
The Prime Minister highlighted that this approach, under his administration, was aimed at managing the costs of overseas official trips as efficiently as possible.
Earlier this month, Anwar visited China from November 4 to 7, at the invitation of his counterpart Li Qiang, to attend the 7th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai.
Following that, the Prime Minister continued his tour to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Peru, and Brazil, from November 9 to 19.
The 11-day visit to these four countries was aimed at strengthening strategic cooperation and generating substantial investment potential for Malaysia.
During the trip, Anwar led Malaysia’s delegation to the 31st APEC Economic Leaders’ Week (AELW) in Peru and the G20 summit in Brazil. – November 23, 2024