Clear the air on those trips

(TS) – IT would not have become an issue if a simple oral question asked of the Prime Minister in the Dewan Rakyat had been given a straight forward reply.

Member of Parliament for Paya Besar Datuk Shahar Abdullah asked Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim about the costs of Anwar’s working visits to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Peru, and Brazil between Nov 9 and 19.

They were fairly successful, judging from Anwar’s social media postings during these trips, meeting with leaders to talk about economic matters but also using every opportunity possible to discuss an issue close to his heart: the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

It was also good optics to be seen on the global stage. While the Prime Minister was away, no one questioned him since these trips were also to find new markets and potential investments.

Malaysians were bombarded with videos and photos of him attending summits from Riyadh to Rio de Janeiro in the PM’s social media accounts. There was a photo of him sitting down looking down at some papers with Institute Of Strategic & International Studies chairman Dr Faiz Abdullah in a chartered Malaysia Airlines airplane on the way to Cairo, prompting concern among some social media users for a tired looking Prime Minister hard at work.

A few days before leaving for Cairo, Anwar had gone on a working visit to Shanghai and Beijing.

All went well during the four-country trip, minus some unhappiness over a missed photo opportunity with other leaders of the Group of 20 Leaders Summit in Brazil , because Anwar, through no fault of his, had returned home earlier. The Prime Minister’s attendance at the G20 summit was at the invitation of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva although Malaysia is not a member.

When he was asked that supplementary question in Parliament, Anwar, being a champion of cost cutting measures, decided to take it a step further to talk about the chartered flight.

“We did things differently recently, as I noticed that travel costs were often quite high. This time, the government, through cooperation with the Investment, Trade, and Industry Ministry, invited companies like Petronas, Sapura, Proton, and semiconductor firms to join our delegation,” Anwar said.

“They paid for their flight expenses, which means they covered about 75% of our overseas travel costs.”

That reply sparked a debate outside Parliament.

“Why did he have to talk about that in Parliament? It was his own doing. No one was questioning him on the trips.

“He wanted to position himself as a cost-cutter, cost-saver but in all democracies it is all cash by access,” said an observer who was part of the delegation.

Since he became Prime Minister two years ago, Anwar has travelled to nearly 30 countries. He has been to China, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia more than once. At bilateral meetings or summits, he has made some strong points about certain global issues, further elevating Malaysia’s position at international fora.

“I think what many are unhappy about is why he travels so much, and some will see it as a waste of money.

“More than 30 trips, how much money is that? And how much money is spent on travelling alone.”

To put it in context, the Prime Minister does not travel alone. In his delegation will be ministers, government officials, the Prime Minister’s Office media team members (gone are the days of having only one press secretary as more bodies are needed for social media feeds nowadays, and that started way before Anwar’s time). The Prime Minister’s security details are important too. The official delegation list is long although sometimes some would travel in advance to recce and prepare.

For the record, in October, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa, in a written reply in Parliament, said the Prime Minister has gone on 39 official visits and work trips to 22 countries since he came into power, amounting to a cost of RM13.7mil. In return, Anwar secured potential investments to the value of RM353.6bil in 2023 and RM82.6bil from January to October this year.

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the cost of using the Malaysia Airlines Airbus A350 came to RM6.162mil. The government paid RM1.662mil, or 27%, of this amount while the business delegation covered the balance of RM4.5mil, he said.

On that recent trip to the four countries, many also noticed the presence of Anwar’s daughter, Nurul Izzah. In an Instagram posting, Nurul Izzah said she is representing her mother, Datin Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who was unwell. In Peru she visited a mosque and in Brazil, there was a photo of Nurul Izzah and Anwar jogging along a beach in Rio de Janeiro.

Nobody seems to be certain in what capacity she was travelling on these trips and who paid for her. Another question raised was whether it was necessary for her to be there.

Anwar came into power promising reforms in the government and yet the overseas trips seem to be all too frequent when some of them could have just been handled at ministerial level.

There are also pressing matters at home like his promised reforms. Who can blame Bersih for giving the Pakatan Harapan government a “D” grade in its mid-term evaluation, attributing the poor performance to the coalition government’s failure to carry out significant institutional reforms.

“As the Prime Minister, foreign policy is not the be all and end all because there are so many things to do at home.

“He is not neglecting things back home but more than 30 trips in two years is quite a lot. The Prime Minister needs to balance both. Yes, there is a need to travel but the focus on domestic priorities must also be ongoing,” said a government official.

I believe that what people out there are asking for is greater transparency and disclosure, especially for the November working visits.

What are the criteria and guidelines in getting the companies to travel on the same plane with the Prime Minister or for that matter the role of an accompanying family member?

It is understood another trip covering four destinations is on the cards in January, three European cities and one in the Middle East. Will there be another chartered flight, and who will be invited to travel along?

If this flight takes off, more questions should be asked and the Prime Minister and the government must be more transparent about this matter.

Source : The Star