KUALA LUMPUR – MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong said his and his fellow party leaders’ trip to China to accompany Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was paid for out of their own pockets and did not involve government funds.
Wee, who is also Ayer Hitam MP, clarified the matter today after DAP’s Bandar Baru Klang assemblyman Datuk Teng Chang Khim claimed that their presence with Anwar in China was a “waste of public funds.”
“I self-funded the trip and did not spend a single cent of citizens’ money,” said Wee in a Facebook post.
“The MCA leaders who accompanied me for the courtesy call also funded their own expenses and did not use any public funds for the trip.
“The accusation (by Teng) that we have used public funds or (were) sponsored by government agencies is totally false and baseless,” he added.
In the post, he also shared images discrediting Teng’s assertions, which were published on Twitter.
Wee said that he and several other MCA leaders had paid a courtesy call to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CPC) international liaison department minister Liu Jianchao, prior to Anwar’s arrival in Beijing.
“Considering the long-standing ties that MCA has enjoyed with the CPC since 1994, we hope that dialogues and interactions on both our nations developments will further strengthen our relations.
“That was the objective of this visit,” Wee said.
The other party leaders he named in the visit were deputy president Datuk Mah Hang Soon, secretary-general Datuk Chong Sin Woon and vice-president Datuk Tan Teik Cheng.
Wee also has other Facebook posts that show him at some of the events Anwar attended, such as a breaking of fast for the Malaysian delegation and at the Tsinghua University where the prime minister gave a speech.
On Wednesday, Anwar arrived in China for a three-day visit to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries, enhancing trade, technology and education cooperation.
Besides Wee, he was also accompanied by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir; International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz; Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming; Transport Minister Anthony Loke; Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang; Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, and Malaysian ambassador to China, Raja Datuk Nushirwan Zainal Abidin. – The Vibes, March 31, 2023
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