KL Summit 2019 not funded by gov't, says summit's sec-gen
The Kuala Lumpur Summit 2019, organised by a think-tank parked under the Prime Minister's Department, was not funded by the government.
This was according to the summit's co-secretary general Samsudin Osman when asked about the cost of the four-day summit held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre which ended today.
"This is privately (funded and also from) donations, it is not (funded) by the government...
The Kuala Lumpur Summit 2019, organised by a think-tank parked under the Prime Minister's Department, was not funded by the government.
This according to the summit's co-secretary general Samsudin Osman when asked about the cost of the four-day summit held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre which ended today.
"This is privately (funded and also from) donations, it is not (funded) by the government," he told the media after the closing of the summit.
"If it is from the government, then I won't be here. I am not with the government anymore," said Samsudin, who served as the chief secretary to the government from February 2002 to September 2006.
He, however, declined to speak about the total cost of organising the event.
"I won't say because I don't have the final figures yet," he said.
The summit was organised by the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (Might), an independent non-profit technology think-tank under the purview of the Prime Minister's Department.
Might describes itself as an entity which “plays a key role in developing Malaysia's high technology for business through its role as a private-public consensus building and business nurturing platforms".
Might is a corporate entity and its contracts do not have to go through government procurement processes.
This means any tender or contract related to the KL Summit will not be listed on the Treasury-maintained MyProcurement or E-Perolehan websites.
As a comparison, the three-day Annual Judges Conference held at the Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur last year cost RM587,500. The same conference held in Shangri La Hotel in 2015 cost RM967,853.85.
The summit drew criticism as an attempt to create a platform parallel to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Prominent attendees included Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Hamad Al Thani and Iranian president Hassan Rouhani.
Indonesian vice-president Ma’ruf Amin cancelled citing health reasons, while Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan pulled out at the last minute.
The KL Summit 2019 did not have a specific focus other than to discuss “issues revolving in the Muslim world”. The summit’s theme was "The Role of Development in Achieving National Sovereignty".
A total of 18 agreements were signed during the summit including for the setting-up a centre of excellence and for a defence agreement.
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
This action cannot be undone.