A total of RM12.72 million was spent on 31 official overseas trips involving ministers and their teams from the Prime Minister's Department.

In a parliamentary written reply yesterday, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Farid Mohd Rafik said these overseas trips were recorded between May and December 2018.

"The expenditure included (the spending) by all officials who joined these overseas trips as approved by the cabinet," he said.

He said the officials involved were the prime minister and his deputy Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, ministers Azmin Ali, VK Liew and Mujahid Yusuf Rawa and deputy minister Fuziah Salleh.

Mohd Farid, however, provided only a partial answer to Zahidi Zainul Abidin (BN-Padang Besar) who had asked the government to reveal the total expenditure for foreign working trips incurred by all cabinet members.

"What was the purpose of these trips, the number of people in the delegations and the total cost spent," he had asked.

It was previously reported that the government issued a new cost-cutting directive that barred ministers from bringing along their spouses and a full entourage on short working trips.