KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13 — Umno Youth insisted today that a recent controversial police work trip to Istanbul, Turkey should fully use taxpayers’ money, despite criticisms of its alleged lavishness.
Wing chief Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said Totalisator Board of Malaysia’s sponsorship of the police force using funds from number forecast operator Da Ma Cai was allegedly insensitive towards Islam and public sentiments.
“Was this move in accordance with good governance principle, when a private company was left to sponsor a government organ that can result in conflict of interest polemic?” he asked in a statement on his Facebook page, with a screen capture of Malay Mail’s story attached.
“Umno Youth insists that a sponsorship like this is inappropriate because it opposes religious and moral principles. This trip should be fully funded by the government through the Finance Ministry if it is really necessary for the police.”
Yesterday, Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin confirmed that he had given the green light for the work trip, which was attended by mostly senior officers and Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun himself.
He said Totalisator Board had partially sponsored the trip, adding he was not informed about who, how or how many were going.
Sarawak Report (SR) on February 10 reported at least 16 high-ranking officers travelled to Istanbul for a work trip and the online news portal estimated that RM312,441 could have been spent on just business class flights and hotels for the group.
According to SR, among those who accompanied the IGP were Bukit Aman Criminal Investigations Department director Commissioner Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Najmuddin, Narcotics Criminal Investigations Department director Commissioner Datuk Seri Mohamad Salleh, and several other top brass.
