PM open house in PN states cost RM6m, down from RM11m 2022-do

 

The total bill that Putrajaya had to foot for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's Aidilfitri open houses in Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu was just over RM6 million, according to the government.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs, and Special Functions) Armizan Mohd Ali said the events cost less money compared to the Aidilfitri open house hosted by Anwar's predecessor last year.

In a written parliamentary reply, Armizan said the open house in Kedah cost RM3.1 million - and RM1.5 million each in Kelantan and Terengganu.

However, there is an RM200,000 in discrepancy in his reply, as he stated the total cost was RM6.3 million, while the breakdown only adds up to RM6.1 million.

He said this covered all expenses including venue, logistics, and catering.

In comparison, he said the Aidilfitri open house hosted at the prime minister's official residence last year - when Ismail Sabri Yaakob was in power - cost RM11 million.

Armizan said the lower cost was due to cooperation between ministries, federal departments, and state governments.

"This allowed for organising costs to be lowered, especially in terms of human resources and other logistics," he said.

Armizan added that the government also engaged local small traders’ services to cater for the open houses.

While the cost to the federal government for Anwar's open houses was lower than last year's expenses, it is still significantly higher than what was spent a decade ago.

In 2013, prime minister's open house hosted by then-prime minister Najib Abdul Razak cost RM2.88 million.

This itself was a 70 percent increase compared to Najib's first Aidilfitri open house as prime minister in 2009.

Meanwhile, Armizan said the Kedah open house was attended by around 25,000 people, while around 15,000 went to the Kelantan and Terengganu events each, bringing the total to 55,000.

The Ismail Sabri-do hosted some 70,000 people, according to the minister's data.

Armizan was replying to Awang Hashim (Perikatan Nasional-Pendang) who wanted to know how much was spent on Anwar's open houses across six states.

Putrajaya only paid for the open houses in Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu - while the open houses in Penang, Selangor, and Negeri Sembilan were paid for by the state governments.

Armizan, however, did not disclose how much the three Pakatan Harapan-led states spent for their legs of the Anwar open house tour. - Mkini