SHAH ALAM, 12 March 2009: The overseas air travel costs for former Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo for 21 trips from September 2001 to January 2008 amounted to RM349,134.
Among destinations visited by Khir were London, Bangkok, Beijing, Los Angeles, Dubai, Osaka, Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Paris, Perth, Milan, Venice and Amsterdam.
Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said the statistics were from air travel warrants obtained from the office of the Selangor Menteri Besar.
Costs like accommodation, food and drinks, and other costs were still being tallied by the menteri besar’s office, he said in reply to a question by Mohamad Azmin Ali (PKR-Bukit Antarabangsa) in the state assembly today.
Azmin had asked for the cost of the menteri besar’s overseas travels from 2000 till now, and who was the travel agent that arranged the trips.
Abdul Khalid said the travel agent was Green Adventure Holidays Sdn Bhd and that the involvement of other agents was still being looked into by the menteri besar’s office.
In reply to a supplementary question by Mohamad Azmin if there were any family ties between Khir and Green Adventure, Abdul Khalid said his office had no proof of any ties.
He said the state government had now appointed Tourism Selangor Sdn Bhd to manage travel for the state government.
However, to avoid the practice of a monopoly, the state government welcomed the participation of other travel agents.
Added Abdul Khalid: “Till now we find that most of the state executive councillors were inclined to buy tickets on-line, especially from AirAsia, as this was cheaper than going through travel agents.” — Bernama
tengku mohd faizal says
These people got nothing better to do in Parliament. Instead of focusing on the rakyat and economy, they are harping on old issues on where the ex-MB went travel. Might as well keep digging up how many girlfriends and concubines the ex-MB have had. Jokers in Parliament.