Crowd-puller wasn't Umno but the SHORT SKIRTS! K-Pop stars raised RM140 MIL - Shabery

The decision by the Youth and Sports Ministry to pay RM1.6 million to K-Pop artistes from South Korea to perform at the Youth Day 2012 celebration had actually generated a turnover of RM140 million to the country.

Communications and Multimedia Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek said the decision by the Youth and Sports Ministry, which was then headed by him, had not only generated huge revenue for the country, but also attracted more youths to participate in activities organised by the government.

"That Youth Day celebration attracted more than 2.4 million visitors," he told a media conference after a meeting with the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) at its office at Parliament House on Thursday.

He said it was the K-Pop attraction that brought big sponsorship from the private sector for the Youth Day celebration.

Ahmad Shabery said Telekom Malaysia's sponsorship brought in returns of up to RM26 million, while there were also other sponsorships that gave returns of RM1.9 million and in cash of up to RM2.3 million.

However, the actual benefits came in stages, he added.

"I told them to not look at the K-Pop issue separately. The event is about the direction of youths. K-Pop was just one of the 500 events in conjunction with the Youth Day celebration, which succeeded in attracting more than 2.4 million visitors.

"If Brazil has its Rio Carnival, Germany, its October Fest, let Malaysia have its own iconic day, the Youth Day Festival," he added.

Ahmad Shabery said the K-Pop artistes invited for the event were among the 10 popular K-Pop groups in South Korea and to get them to perform, a deposit of RM900,000 must be paid.

He said it was the deposit payment that was being politicised as it had used the government's money, but it did not change the fact that the event involving the K-Pop artistes had managed to secure sponsorship amounting to RM2.3 million.

Bigger profits

Yesterday, the PAC chairman Nur Jazlan Mohamed said the committee found no evidence of misappropriation in the payment of RM1.6 million to K-Pop artistes from South Korea by the Youth and Sports Ministry under Ahmad Shabery's leadership last year.

He said this was because all payments related to the 2012 Youth Day celebration were made according to payment procedures.

“PAC is satisfied with the explanation given by Ahmad Shabery Cheek," he had said.

Ahmad Shabery met with the committee to offer his explanation concerning the payment which was reported in the Auditor-General's Report 2012.

Instead of being called, Ahmad Shabery had voluntarily gone to the PAC office to offer his explanation to the committee.

"PAC has no plan to call Ahmad Shabery because the explanation he had given is sufficient," said Nur Jazlan.

Nur Jazlan said what the committee did find in its investigation was only a misunderstanding on the payment procedures.

"I think the explanation given by the minister was satisfactory. In my opinion, he has given thorough explanation on the policy adopted and the process that had taken place during the Youth Day celebration," he said.

The PAC chairman also said the budget allocated by the Youth and Sports Ministry for the 2012 Youth Day celebration while it was under Ahmad Shabery's leadership was in line with the government's policy to ensure that each ringgit spent would bring about one or more benefits.

"A total of RM1.6 million was spent to bring three K-Pop artistes from South Korea. Of the total, RM900,000 were used to pay the artistes, while the remaining were used to cover other costs, including taxes, transportation and accommodation," said Nur Jazlan.

He said problems arose when many quarters looked only into the tiny scope of bringing in K-Pop artistes, when they were actually part of the ministry's efforts to gain bigger profits at the Youth Day celebration, which was a indeed a successful event.

"PAC will prepare a detailed report on the issue and it will be made public by early next year the latest," he said.

- Bernama