Rep slams S'wak speaker's ruling to block query on state travel spending

Summary

• Pending assemblyperson Violet Yong criticises Sarawak legislative assembly speaker Amar Asfia Awang Nassar for blocking her question about the breakdown of state spending on overseas trips by top officials and their families.

• She calls the move dismissive and harmful to democratic accountability.

• Yong warns that using Standing Orders to block scrutiny sets a dangerous precedent, urges the government to disclose travel expenses, stressing the public’s right to know how their money is being used.

Pending assemblyperson Violet Yong has voiced strong disapproval over the recent decision by the Sarawak legislative assembly speaker to reject her question seeking a breakdown of government spending on overseas trips by state leaders and their family members.

In a statement today, Yong expressed her “deep disappointment and concern” over Amar Asfia Awang Nassar’s ruling, which deemed the question inadmissible under Standing Orders 20(3), 20(4), and 20(6).

She criticised the justification given - that such expenditures are “trivial” or a “pittance” - as not only dismissive but damaging to democratic principles.

“This fundamentally undermines the principles of transparency, accountability, and democratic governance that the people of Sarawak deserve,” said Yong.

The question, submitted for the sitting, sought detailed information on spending related to official overseas travel involving the Premier, ministers, deputy ministers, and their family members over the past five years.

‘Trivial and pittance’

According to Dayak Daily, Amar ruled out the question by stating that the amount spent becomes “pittance” and “trivial” compared to the billions in investments Sarawak has secured.

The speaker invoked Standing Orders 20(3), 20(4), and 20(6) to disallow the question raised by Yong, and said that these engagements have directly contributed to Sarawak’s growing global presence and economic strength.

“The few millions we spent on travelling becomes a pittance and trivial compared with the billions - multibillions that Sarawak (has) achieved,” said the speaker during the sitting yesterday.

However, the Pending assemblyperson argued that while official trips may be necessary for Sarawak’s interests, public representatives must have the right to scrutinise how taxpayer money is spent.

“We are not questioning the necessity of official overseas missions when they are truly for the benefit of Sarawak. What we are demanding is accountability in how public funds are spent,” she said.

Yong warned that the speaker’s interpretation of the Standing Orders sets a dangerous precedent - allowing any inquiry into public expenditure to be dismissed under vague pretexts.

She stressed that elected representatives are entrusted with public oversight and that denying legitimate questions compromises that duty.

She further pointed out the irony of the Gabungan Parti Sarawak-led government claiming transparency while refusing to release what she described as “basic financial details” regarding the cost and composition of official trips.

“The rakyat has every right to know how their money is being used, especially when it involves potentially millions of ringgit in travel and related expenses,” Yong added.

Public’s right to scrutinise

Yong also dismissed the speaker’s defence that physical presence is necessary for foreign engagements, stating that the core issue was not the necessity of travel but the public’s right to scrutinise its cost and effectiveness.

“The people of Sarawak are not asking for classified trade secrets. They are simply asking how tax money was spent, especially when public welfare, healthcare, infrastructure, and rural development remain inadequate.”

She renewed her call for the Sarawak government to disclose a full breakdown of public funds used for overseas trips over the past five years.

“If the Sarawak GPS government is bold enough to spend the rakyat’s money, why are you so afraid to tell the rakyat the truth?”

The statement comes amid growing public demand for greater fiscal transparency, particularly as economic challenges persist in various rural and underdeveloped regions of Sarawak.

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