Ali Rustam still hitting the HEADLINES: Son's wedding was 'cheap to organise'

Malacca - Did the catering for the wedding cost RM1.3 million (S$524,000), RM13 million or a mere RM600,000?

Whatever the cost, the grandiose scale of the wedding of the eldest son of Malacca's chief minister has grabbed headlines in Malaysia.

About 130,000 people are believed to have attended the wedding banquet of Mr Mohd Ridhwan and his wife Nur Azieha Mohd Ali, both 26.

And the wedding entered the Malaysia Book of Records for the huge turnout, The Star reported.

Opposition lawmakers have demanded that the chief minister, Mr Mohd Ali Rustam, reveal how much he spent on Sunday's wedding and where the funding came from.

But Mr Mohd Ali, who is on a working trip to Indonesia, dismissed the talk about extravagance.

"It was cheap to organise. The wedding just looked grand because of the number of people who attended," he said.

'Miraculous' serving portions

The chief minister, who is also a Umno vice-president, told Malay Mail that he had hired 30 chefs who could whip up the wedding reception's nasi briyani campur dishes for 60,000 people, at RM10 per head.

Each serving could feed three people, he said.

It comes to RM600,000 for a wedding feast that could be served to about 180,000 guests, he said.

He dismissed allegations that the reception, which lasted eight hours, cost millions of ringgit.

Meanwhile, a leaked document from the Malacca State Development Corporation (PKNM) allegedly shows that state agencies had sponsored the wedding ceremony.

Debating the federal budget in Parliament yesterday, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia lawmaker Mahfuz Omar said the document showed that a meeting hosted by PKNM was especially called to discuss the "logistics of the ceremony"on Sunday.

"The CM's special officer admitted that the event was sponsored to the tune of RM10 per guest and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission must look into this (as) this is a personal event.

"The meeting minutes mention the government departments involved and state that no bills should be claimed from the chief minister, everything is free."

The minutes also allegedly stated that 100 tents were sponsored by four local councils and the armed forces could be approached for more tents.

Sponsored items

Other sponsored items include a generator, water taps, cleaning staff from local council and performances by the cultural department.

The chief minister's special secretary, Mr M. S. Mahadevan, said no one was forced to attend the event, including state government employees.

He also said that many of the caterers and other businesses provided their services for free, The Star reported.

The wedding saw a host of dignitaries, including the Sultan of Selangor, several cabinet ministers and a number of other VIPs, attending.

Artiste Siti Nurhaliza performed at the wedding. - TNP