No money for health sector, but Anwar, officials criss-crossed 24 countries despite austerity measures

A public health portal has ripped into the government's claim of implementing cost-saving measures which have heavily impacted hospitals and medical care nationwide, revealing that officials, including Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, made overseas trips to at least 50 cities in less than two months, in violation of an austerity policy announced at the onset of the war on Iran which has seen travel costs soar.

Checks by CodeBlue, affiliated with public health pressure group Galen Centre for Health & Social Policy, show that 50 overseas trips were taken by 20 ministries and two statutory bodies, with ministers, politicians and senior civil servants travelling to 24 countries in Asia, Europe, North America and Australasia from May 1 to June 19.

The report noted that the trips were made on the back of budget cuts announced by the health ministry (MOH), which resulted in a hiring freeze, strict overtime claim limits, and restrictions on medicine use and laboratory tests.

"Although funding can’t be transferred from one ministry to another, reducing or eliminating international travel for official duties altogether might enable the Treasury to reduce cuts to the MOH’s budget," it added.

Among those who made trips abroad was Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad, who flew to Geneva last month to attend the 79th World Health Assembly.

The list of travels is compiled based on analyses of hundreds of Facebook posts by ministries and ministers, as well as posts on official pages involving the prime minister and the chief secretary to the government.

The list may not be comprehensive, as the report stated it could not find travel-related postings on online pages for nine ministries or departments, including those headed by Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil, Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek, and two other ministers in the Prime Minister's Department, Zulkifli Hasan (religious affairs) and Hannah Yeoh (federal territories).

"Travel purposes were mostly for international conferences or meetings, besides official visits," the report said, adding that its analysis did not include pilgrimages to Mecca or trips to accompany rulers.

It added that while the government is not legally obliged to disclose the cost of the trips, business class airfares – the mode of travel usually taken by ministers and senior civil servants – are "four to five times the cost of the same flight ticketed in economy".

"It’s unclear if government delegations always stay in five-star hotels during official trips overseas," the report said.

Topping the list are the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) and Malaysian Armed Forces Defence College (MAFDC), as well as the defence minister, deputy minister and other officials, who travelled to eight countries including France, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Indonesia and Singapore.

As for travels by the prime minister that were publicly announced, these include visits to Japan, the Philippines, and most recently to Russia and Turkmenistan.

Meanwhile, officials from the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry travelled to meetings in New York, Wellington and Hiroshima. Similarly, officials from the home ministry flew to Russia, the Philippines and Indonesia for meetings.

Anwar first announced a series of austerity measures in early March, days after the US-Israeli aggression against Iran, which led to a sharp spike in global oil prices.

Among other measures, the spending cuts include limiting overseas travel by ministers and government departments to mandatory events, a ban on study visits, downgrading accommodation type, and reducing delegation sizes.

The government also announced the cancellation of official events, including Hari Raya Aidilfitri open houses. Training programmes were also instructed to be held in government facilities rather than hotels.

Since taking office in 2022, official trips abroad under Anwar's administration have come under scrutiny, with critics saying they did not bring any economic benefits other than "potential investments", a phrase used by the prime minister which has quickly become an online meme.

In less than two years after coming to power, Anwar made a record 39 trips abroad at a cost of RM13.7 million to the government, raising questions about how they benefit the economy as well as the costs involved.

Criticism was further fuelled by Anwar's admission that several private companies had sponsored the government's trips.