Ex-tourism chief: Ministry rife with cronyism and overspending

PETALING JAYA: The Tourism and Culture Ministry has come under fire from former Tourism Malaysia chairman Wee Choo Keong (pic) with allegations of overspending and cronyism.

Wee criticised the ministry for allegedly posting too many officers overseas.

“The usual practice for overseas posting for all government servants is three to four years, but there are many overseas directors (OD) who have been posted for much longer.

“Currently, there are two ODs for each overseas station when we only need one,” he wrote on his blog on Monday.

Wee claimed the director’s position was given to cronies of the previous administration as a reward, incurring unnecessary costs such as international school fees for the children of the ODs.

He said nepotism was also an issue as a top official in the ministry had posted his niece, a junior in her department, as the deputy OD in one of the Asian stations.

The same official also gave his nephew a posting in a European station, he added.

Wee urged the new Pakatan Harapan Government to investigate such practices and take action against those behind the abuse of power.