PUTRAJAYA - The government successfully saved almost RM1 million in the flight cost for the official delegation led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to five countries recently, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
Fahmi, who is also the Unity Government spokesperson, said the government only incurred RM1.662 million in cost for the chartered flight using Malaysia Airlines' Airbus A350, compared to the RM2.5 million cost of using the government’s official aircraft.
"The (flight) cost for the official delegation borne by the Malaysian Government amounted only to RM1.662 million or equivalent to 27 per cent of the total cost.
"The government found that there was a saving (of almost RM1 million by using chartered flight) compared to using the existing official aircraft,” he said.
Fahmi also stressed that the official visit of the Prime Minister and Malaysian delegation to the five countries, namely Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Peru, Brazil, and Qatar, was fully funded by the government, with no financing from private companies that accompanied the visit.
"It is important for me to make it clear that the government paid for the Prime Minister's flight. He was not sponsored by any company, it was all paid by the government," he said.
Regarding other expenses such as meals and ground transportation during the official visits, Fahmi said that these are typically funded by the organisers, including that of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit and the G20 Summit.
"So, there is no issue with these costs being borne by private entities," he said.
For the record, the Malaysian delegation also included Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, and two deputy ministers, whose participation aimed at strengthening Malaysia's economic, trade, and diplomatic ties, particularly with Egypt, Peru, and Brazil.
On the participation of the business delegation in the official visits, which took place from Nov 9 to 19, Fahmi said that the expenses were borne by the companies themselves, reflecting their strong interest in trade and investment opportunities in the visited countries and regions.
"The business delegation paid 73 per cent of the total cost, or RM4.5 million. They (the companies) even paid for their own (flight) tickets," he said. - BERNAMA