KUALA LUMPUR: The government has implemented a new strategy to minimise expenses during official visits overseas, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
In response to a question from Datuk Shahar Abdullah (Paya Besar-BN) on the cost implications of his recent overseas trips, the Prime Minister said that the government had significantly reduced expenses this time.
The Prime Minister explained that the new initiative involved collaboration with key Malaysian companies.
“This time, the government, through cooperation with the Investment, Trade, and Industry Ministry (MITI), invited companies like Petronas, Sapura, Proton, and semiconductor firms to join our delegation,” Anwar said.
He said the companies bore a significant portion of the travel costs.
“They paid for their flight expenses, which means they covered about 75% of our overseas travel costs.
“The government supports these companies in either importing or exporting, and they, in turn, assist with the travel expenditure,” he said.
Anwar added that while the exact figures are not yet available as the delegation had only returned on Wednesday (Nov 20), preliminary estimates suggest that around 75% of the trip’s costs were borne by these participating companies.
