Y OURSAY ‘So the draft agenda showed golfing and free time before official functions?’
DPM's office refutes 'golf trip', says all official
Kim Quek: Tight schedule? My foot! Apart from the first day the 8th when DPM Muhyiddin Yassin attended the opening of the UAE Annual Investment Meeting where he was officially received (together with other delegation heads) by the UAE prime minister, and on second day the 9th when he spent three hours at the Gulf Education Exhibition where he officiated the Malaysian Pavilion and received courtesy calls from the two UAE ministers, the rest of the five-day trip was on golf, cruise, dinners and other private activities.
And look at the 16-strong delegation, practically all are personal aides with no important officials from the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Trade, and you call this an official working visit?
I would say it looks more like a pleasure trip. And the flight was by a “special aircraft’? Members of parliament must make Muhyiddin give a full account of the total expenses as well as the precise schedules of this luxury trip.
Where there is abuse of power and squandering of public funds, such misconduct must be censured.
Mano: Muhyiddin admitted what the opposition is saying when he said: "The document exposed by the MPs is not the actual working schedule for the DPM's Dubai trip but an early draft which had not been finalised...”
Anybody who plans a trip has on the most important official matter first not the other way around. For Muhyiddin, he puts his golf first and then finds some official work to make it seem official.
Mushiro: So it was only a 'draft' of the itinerary from the DPM's office which was at fault. The idiots from the DPM's office who drafted this does not even know to lie.
Yes, poor Muhyiddin went to work hard in Dubai in a private jet with 16 experts.
Mytwosensworth: The draft is a reflection of the itinerary or substance of the trip - a holiday with plenty of hanger-ons. There is no point trying to justify now. Please don't waste our money.
If it is for jolly trip, take leave and spend your own money. Imagine the human hours wasted instead of working, for which they are paid to do.
Fairnsquare: The draft is as good as the official document as the 17-member delegation is clearly spelt out. A business class MAS flight with a five-member delegation would be more reflective of real austerity measures.
The golf game is okay as it does promote goodwill and better understanding between governments of the two countries. Even the DPM's wife accompanying him is okay as it will promote good relationship between the ladies of the leaders.
But the private jet and a 16-member delegation is not an austerity measure by any standard.
Too Lan: So the first draft feature what they want to do first then only fill in between their golf outings with ‘work’ to look like they were working?
Since when a draft contains more play than work? They think we are as stupid as them.
Onyourtoes: Seriously, for the itinerary, how different can it be between the draft and the final copy? Five days visit to a small country is unusually long for a "busy" DPM unless he has nothing much to do in Malaysia.
Speaking Sense: And why would even a ‘draft’ programme be so frivolous? Was it just following what was ‘normal’ programme for such trips by Muhyiddin in the past?
And why such a big delegation? Can we have their programme too, including that for DPM’s wife? Hey, it's our money you are spending.
Ranjit Singh: But the news did not said how many Dubai entrepreneurs were playing golf and having dinner with DPM.
This is how we fish for business for our company or country. One have to spend a penny to earn a pound.
SpongeBob: The rakyat are waiting to see the fruits of Muhyiddin’s trip. We would like to hear from the DPM the outcome and the amount investment he was able to attract from this trip.
A five-day working trip can be achieved a lot. If the DPM cannot show some achievements in quantifiable form, you are merely camouflaging your fun trip with high-flying working trip using the rakyat's money.
The rakyat need a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis the trip.
Magnus: It looks like the three-day work stretched to 8 days’ worth of costs and expenses.
My mind can't also help wondering as to what potentially useful sharing of investment knowledge and insight, if any, any Malaysian in that group visiting the UAE, can possibly impart to the hyper-cerebral and highly astute Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Al-Maktoum.
Anyone know how long Sheikh Mohammad has pencilled in that meeting for?
100% Truly Malaysian: Of course, it will be "official expenditure" for all nonsense activities Umno-BN leaders are spending.
It is just like watching penguins in South Pole being called as a "study trip" on climate change by a moron whom I believe doesn't even know the boiling point of water in Fahrenheit.
The same thing can be said on the use of the government jet for shopping spree. Even the housemaid was flying first class to Disneyland on taxpayers’ money.
Drngsc: This government keeps lying. How come 16 people to accompany the DPM, and the draft itinerary is so different from final?
Abcxyz: The draft is the real one. The official version is a made-up one.
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