Who's paying for Nurul Izzah to join PM's overseas trips, MP asks

An opposition lawmaker has questioned the travel expenses of former PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar, who was seen accompanying Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at official events during his recent overseas trips.

Speaking to Malaysiakini, Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal asked whether Nurul Izzah’s presence, representing an NGO, was funded by the government.

“What is the relevance of the Social and Economic Research Initiative (Seri), represented by the prime minister’s daughter? It is not a government body. So, who funded her trip?

“Why is there such a minimal allocation for parliamentary select committees, yet funds are available for someone who is neither an MP nor a government official? This is not good governance,” he said today.

Earlier this month, Anwar conducted official visits to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Peru, and Brazil from Nov 9 to Nov 19, with Nurul Izzah participating in several events.

Work-related visit

In a Facebook post on Nov 9, Nurul Izzah stated that she was travelling to Egypt, Peru, and Brazil on behalf of Seri for work-related visits.

According to her, the official delegation included prominent Malaysian entrepreneurs and other small and medium-sized enterprises.

“Representing Seri, I will meet with Third World Network (TWN), The Aga Khan Trust for Culture, and Al-Azhar University, alongside participation from Think City.

“We aim to include the efforts of like-minded NGOs to advance the agendas of developing nations, middle powers, and foster economic solidarity among these countries rather than narrow, intense competition,” she said.

Additionally, during a programme in Peru, Nurul Izzah also represented her mother Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail in visiting the Muslim community at the Mezquita de Magdalena Dei Mar Mosque in Peru.

Today, in the Dewan Rakyat, Anwar explained that approximately 70 to 80 percent of the costs associated with the official trips to five countries were borne by private companies accompanying the delegation.

The PKR president stated that this approach was adopted under his administration to ensure that the expenses for overseas official visits were managed as efficiently as possible.

For context, when PKR was in the opposition, the cost of official trips by the then-prime minister Najib Abdul Razak was also a focus of the opposition’s check-and-balance against the government.

Who are the private entities?

Meanwhile, Wan Fayhsal urged Anwar to clarify the claim that 80 percent of the travel expenses were covered by private entities.

“The prime minister said 80 percent was funded by private companies. Who are they, and what is their interest? This is another example of governance failure.

“Is this even legal?” he asked further.

Malaysiakini has reached out to Nurul Izzah for comments, but no response has been received at the time of writing.

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