THE 39 official and working trips to 22 countries undertaken by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim between November last year and October this year have cost RM13.7mil, says Dr Zaliha Mustafa.
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) said these visits included countries such as Saudi Arabia, Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei and the United Arab Emirates.
Aside from these countries, Anwar also visited the Philippines, Indonesia, China and Uzbekistan.
“The expenditure for the Prime Minister’s official visits overseas aligns with the financial procedures in place, and a prudent spending approach was taken,” she said.
Dr Zaliha added that the amount spent was reasonable, considering the benefits generated in terms of investment commitments from these trips.
She was responding to a question from Datuk Awang Hashim (PN-Pendang) on the Prime Minister’s overseas trips, the number of accompanying officers, and the total expenditure incurred.Meanwhile, in response to another question by Datuk Azman Nasrudin (PN-Padang Serai) on flight costs, Dr Zaliha said these were in line with the regulations related to the use of government air transport.
“The expenses of government officers who went on the Prime Minister’s official visits abroad are the responsibility of their respective ministries,” she said in a parliamentary written reply dated Oct 29.
She added that Anwar also participated in international conferences, which helped strengthen diplomatic ties and opened opportunities for new initiatives.
Dr Zaliha said international conferences and official visits are good platforms to promote Malaysia on the international stage and inform the business community of the country’s economic conditions.
