Government spent RM2.88 million from PM's Raya open house

The cost to prepare food and beverages for the Hari Raya Open House of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers came up to RM 2.88 million, the Dewan Rakyat was told.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim said that the open house, held on August 8 at Seri Perdana, was attended by more than 80,000 guests consisting of people of different races, religions and walks of life.

Shahidan added the costs borne by the government was RM36 per person and was provided by the company Kuzie Catering.

"It was also attended by tourists and VIPs alongside the heads of government departments, ambassadors and foreign missions in Malaysia and members of the local and foreign corporations,” he said.

Shahidan was answering a query from Seremban MP Anthony Loke (DAP), who asked Parliament to provide a detailed expenditure incurred by the government over the said event and also to name the catering company provided food to visitors and the price for each person.

Meanwhile, Loke questioned the government’s ‘huge’ spending in a press conference in Parliament lobby, and why the tender for catering given to only one company.

"Big ceremonies like this ... why can’t the government divide it for more caterers ? Why a project or the RM 2.8 million and for the one company?”

Loke, however, stopped short of calling for the government to stop such programmes, saying that it does indeed foster unity among Malaysians.