KULAI, August 22: DAP Member of Parliament for Kulai, Teo Nie Ching demended for the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim to explain the spending made by the department for advertisements and publicity from year 2008 to 2013, roketkini.com reported yesterday.
“In a brief reply at the last Parliamentary session, Shahidan stated that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) did not give provisions for advertising and publicity in the years mentioned, but to 13 agencies under the department, totalling to RM8,342,057.75, while the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) and the Bumiputera Agenda Driving Unit (TERAJU) each totaled to RM82,402,800 and RM12,146,255..
“In short, the PMO’s expanses for advertising and publicity from 2008 to 2013 amounted to RM102,892,112.75.
“There is a huge difference with PMD ad spending. If in the first six months of this year PMO has spent RM264 for advertisements, it is impossible that the total spending on advertisements for PMD from 2008 to 2013 only amounts to RM102 million. Did Shahidan provide inaccurate numbers with the intention of misleading the Parliament and the public?” she asked in a statement today.
Malay Mail Online, on 16 August reported that according to the international media buying agency, Vizeum Media, the PMO made a huge spending from government allocations, totalling to RM264 million for the period of the first six months of this year, five times more from year 2012.
Nie Ching, who is also the DAP National Publicity Secretary Assistant, said that Vizeum Media is not the only organisation that exposed the leakages in the government.
“Earlier this year, a study conducted by AC Nielsen revealed that the PMO spent RM170 million for advertisements in the first quarter of 2013. This makes the report by Vizeum Media all the more convincing.
“So I asked Shahidan to explain the difference immediately. If not, I will not hesitate to state that he is misleading the House and refer the matter to the (Parliament’s) Privileges Committee, as provided by Rule 36 (12) of the Standing Order at the next Parliamentary session which starts on 23 September.
In the meantime, Nie Ching also urged the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate the advertising campaign during before the 13th General Election (GE-13) because it is a clear ‘misuse of public funds’.
-Roketkini.com
