Two government figures have defended Putrajaya's decision to hold the federal government's Hari Raya open house event in six states instead of the administrative capital.
In a statement, Umno supreme council member Mohd Puad Zarkashi said there was no necessity to host the event in Putrajaya every year.
Puad (above, left) also said such events were appropriate as the government needs to build strong ties with the grassroots.
"(Muhammad) Sanusi (Md Nor) can tumpang semangkuk (ride along). He can stand next to the prime minister from dawn to dusk to shake hands with visitors.
"The more, the merrier," he said.
On Sanusi's allegation that the six open houses organised by Putrajaya were a waste of funds, Puad advised Sanusi not to hold open houses of his own since the federal government was already doing so.
"If the same people attend, that would be a waste. Sanusi should focus on the purposes of having open houses - to seek forgiveness and be merry.
"We want the rakyat to be happy. That is why (the federal government) granted additional holidays and toll-free travel," said the Johor state assembly speaker.
Traditionally, the prime minister's open house will be held at his residence in Putrajaya on the first day of Aidilfitri.
But this time around, six of such events will be held in Kedah, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Terengganu, Kelantan and Penang.
The Kedah leg on April 29 has been designated as the national level event.
Meanwhile, Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said his administration had held localised open houses in all nine districts and experience showed it was the cheaper option.
The Gombak MP also said the state government spent RM1 million when holding a single state-level open house - between 2016 and 2019.
However, the budget for the nine district-level events was capped at RM100,000 each. - Mkini
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