SINGAPORE: A windfall could result from private companies sharing the cost of flying with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s delegation on his recent overseas trips, analysts and stakeholders said.

But they added that the practice could also expose vulnerabilities in Malaysia’s political financing framework and called for improved accountability.

Mr Anwar sparked debate after he told parliament on Thursday (21 November) that private companies had financed between 75 and 80 per cent of his flights in the past two months. He has been on official visits to China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Peru and Brazil this month.

“If I’m not mistaken, about 70 or 80 percent of the costs of the flights were borne by companies with commercial and investment interests,” he said.

The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry has invited companies such as Petronas, oil and gas firm Sapura Energy, car firm Proton and semiconductor firms to join its delegation and attend meetings abroad, Mr Anwar said.

“We invited these companies that had business and investment interests (to join these trips) and paid for the air ticket and costs, while the government helped these companies to either import or export,” said Mr. Anwar, quoted by the Free news publication. Malaysia today.

It is one of his administration’s measures to more effectively manage foreign travel spending, he said. “Recently we did things differently because we noticed that travel costs were often quite high.”

Mr Anwar was responding to MP for Paya Besar Shahar Abdullah during Prime Minister’s Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of Malaysia’s parliament.

In response to the controversy, government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil clarified on Friday (22 November) that private firms had not paid for Mr Anwar’s trips abroad.

The total cost of the chartered Malaysia Airlines plane, an Airbus A350, was RM6.16 million (US$1.38 million) and the Malaysian government covered 27% of the cost, said Mr Fahmi, who is the communications minister.

“Meanwhile, the business delegation paid 73% of the cost, or 4.5 million lei. So it is important for me to point out that the government paid for the PM’s flight,” he said.

Sharing a charter flight with the private sector representatives during the trips proved to be more cost-effective than if the delegation had flown alone on Putrajaya’s Jet Premier One, said Mr Fahmi, adding that nearly RM900,000 was saved.

Had the government delegation flown alone on Jet Premiere One, which can accommodate only 20 passengers, it would have cost almost three times as much, or RM2.5 million, Free Malaysia Today reported.