RM31,217 spent to organise cabinet meeting in Sarawak

PARLIAMENT The government had spent RM31,217 to organise its cabinet meeting held in Kuching, Sarawak earlier this month.

“The cost to conduct the Sarawak state election was RM135.6 million while the amount spent to organise the cabinet meeting in Kuching on May 4 was RM31,217,” said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Azalina Othman Said in a written parliamentary reply today.

She said this in response to Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng who had asked the prime minister to state the cost of conducting the Sarawak polls as well as the cost of organising the cabinet meeting in Sarawak.

Deputy Prime Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had said that the cabinet meeting held in Kuching was to support Sarawak under the leadership of Chief Minister Adenan Satem and was suggested by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

The last cabinet meeting held outside Kuala Lumpur was in 1999 in Langkawi during the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (Lima).

The Sarawak election, which concluded on May 7, saw BN emerging as the victor, winning 72 seats from the 82 contested.

The latest election’s result was a marked improvement from the 2011 state election where BN only managed to secure 78.6 percent of the state seats, compared to the 87.8 percent it won in the 2016 state polls.-Mkini