PARLIAMENT There is nothing wrong in former tourism minister Dr Ng Yen Yen's spending traits because all the money used was allocated to the ministry, Tourism Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz said today.

"If there is money allocated, then we must spend it. The ministry's money is to be spent," Nazri said in Parliament today, during his ministry's reply to questions raised during the debate on the motion of thanks for the Royal Address.

"It is not our job to save money," he said in response Anthony Loke (DAP-Seremban) who asked whether Nazri would curb Ng's spending after her appointment last week as the new chair of the Malaysia Tourism Board.

NONE "There is nothing wrong. If you say the money is from the Education Ministry and is used here (Tourism Ministry), then that's wrong," Nazri said.

He said this in  defending the appointment of Ng to MTB, an appointment that has come under criticism from the opposition.

Ng was often accused of overspending the Tourism Ministry's budget throughout her previous tenure as tourism minister.

Nazri said she was appointed because she did not have any outstanding court cases against her, and all the accusations levelled against her were "not true".

He also said that Ng would help draw in tourists from China, which is a major tourism market that Malaysia is currently targeting.