The government has spent RM414,000 to date this year on salaries and allowances for two high-profile special envoys, one to India and the other to China.

Former minister and ex-MIC head S Samy Vellu has been paid a total of RM373,000 as special envoy to India, while another former minister and ex-MCA president Ong Ka Ting has received RM41,000 as special envoy to China.

Samy Vellu draws a monthly salary of more than RM27,000 and has three special officers, two drivers and a police escort.

Ong is paid a salary of RM20,000 a month and has two special officers.

NONE Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz, the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, gave these details during Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today, in replying Chua Tian Chang (PKR-Batu).

Nazri  justified the appointments and expenses incurred as "making use of our strengths" in order to tap into the rapidly expanding economies of India and China.

He said that Samy Vellu, who was works minister, has experience in overseeing infrastructure development and can engage with officials and the business community, to create opportunities for Malaysian companies in the rapidly expanding Indian construction sector especially.

Ong, meanwhile, is fluent in Mandarin and therefore able to engage more readily with China’s officials in procuring joint-ventures businesses and investments. This, said Nazri, is important as the Malaysian ambassador to China is not as fluent in Mandarin.

Nazri also rubbished allegations that the special envoy posts are a ‘reward’ for the former heads of BN component parties.

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