Malacca state agencies 'sponsored' mega kenduri

A leaked document from the Malacca State Development Corporation (PKNM) allegedly shows that state agencies had sponsored the wedding ceremony of Malacca chief minister Mohd Ali Rustam's eldest son last Sunday.

Debating the budget in Parliament today, Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena) (right) said the document showed that a meeting hosted by PKNM was especially called to discuss the "logistics of the ceremony" on Sept 30.

"The CM's special officer today admitted that the event was sponsored to the tune of RM10 per guest and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) 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.

According to the copy of the minutes made available to the media later, PKNM chief executive officer Yusof Jantan had instructed that the meeting was to "discuss the preparations in terms of outdoor decoration, cleanliness and logistics of the CM's son's wedding on Sept 30".

"(Yusof) later stressed that all preparation should be conducted at the discretion of the departments, and nothing should be billed to the chief minister or the state government," the minutes read.

Armed forces to clean up
The minutes, dated Aug 23, 2012 also states that 100 tents were sponsored by four local councils (Hang Tuah Jaya, Melaka Bersejarah, Alor Gajah and Jasin).

"(Yusof) will refer to the armed forces to get more tents and the final amount will be confirmed in the next meeting," it reads.

"All tents must include chairs, tables, fans, lights, scallops and table cloths. The colour of the table cloths and scallops will be determined later."

Other sponsored items include:

• A generator set by the Works Department, along with an officer to do wiring works.
• Water taps by Syarikat Air Melaka Bhd for guests to wash their hands.
• Cleaning staff by local councils, with duties to be determined by the Development and Coordination Committee of the State Legislative Assembly. (Yusof is said to be confirming cooperation from the armed forces in this matter.)
• Performances by the state National Cultural and Department (this was to be confirmed by Yusof).

The minutes also mention a "site visit" to the Tun Ali Hall by the "secretariat".

The meeting was attended by the CM's private secretary Ali Mohamed, representatives of local councils, the Works Department and the National Cultural and Arts Department.

The CM was today reported as saying that the event, which attracted 130,000 people and was recorded in the Malaysia World Book of Records, cost RM600,000.