Tourism Malaysia's 'Speedy Gonzales' deal reeks of the old culture

Wee Choo Keong, who was once termed a ‘maverick politician’, had a colourful career in politics. He moved from one opposition party to another before he found favour with the government.

Wee was then made chairperson of the Malaysia Tourism Board (MTB) in July 2015. However, his two-year term was not extended and businessperson Siew Kar Wai took his place.

From a series of postings on his blog, Wee seems to still be glued to what is happening in Tourism Malaysia and has a few ‘whistleblowers’ within. He has made a series of revelations that were supported with documents.

I too have closely monitored Tourism Malaysia over the years. Two chapters in my book, Curi Curi Malaysia, are dedicated to issues affecting the agency under the purview of the ministry helmed by Azalina Othman Said at the time, and later by Dr Ng Yen Yen.

I have also exposed a series of wrongdoings in the MTB and its affiliated companies through my columns.

Therefore, Wee’s exposé on a how the board allegedly entered into a “Speedy Gonzales” contract with Geeko Tech Sdn Bhd – with a payment of RM99.7 million made to the company in a matter of days, and not in accordance with government regulations – makes compelling reading.

Wee alleges that Geeko Tech acted as a go-between for Tourism Malaysia and China’s Tencent Holdings – where the company would promote Malaysia on Tencent’s social media platforms.

(His posting even has a picture of senior Tourism Malaysia officials, including the deputy director-general in a BN shirt (photo below), campaigning in Padang Rengas – the constituency of former tourism minister Nazri Abdul Aziz).

His successor Siew came out with guns blazing with a statement denying his claims. He described Wee’s revelations as baseless, saying it reeked of “bitterness and personal vendetta.”

But there is much ambiguity in Siew’s statement, for it fails to address several points raised by Wee.

How can MTB “sign” a draft agreement with Geeko Tech and a “final agreement” with the Tencent, if the board has no budget or ready funds for any project of that magnitude? Especially when it has been operating with a few hundred million ringgit deficit as is.

A rush to get the deal signed?

How can Tourism Malaysia approve the proposal and sign the agreement two days before Geeko Tech even registered with the Finance Ministry? It is extremely unusual for government agencies to consider any proposal from any company if they are not registered with MOF.

And how could the entire transaction be concluded within a day? There seemed to have been a rush to get the whole thing signed, sealed and delivered before the general election.

In his statement, Siew said that Tourism Malaysia stands by its administrative actions, and insists that everything was done in accordance with proper procedures with full transparency and integrity.

He also stated that it welcomes “any authority to check and verify his claims.”

(The writer left messages on Siew’s mobile phone last Friday and Saturday. He has yet to respond at the time of writing.)

Herein lies the clincher: If taxpayers’ money is used to fund such promotions and his salary and other perks, why can’t we be shown the documents to back up Siew’s claims? Why should it be restricted to “any authority”?

For long, the expenditures of government agencies – especially MTB – which have bordered on extravagance have been kept away from prying eyes.

Malaysians may remember the sale of hotels and its disastrous venture into restaurants overseas, which ran into millions of ringgit. Until it became public, little was known about how much was lost. The perpetrators and their abettors are still walking along the streets of Kuala Lumpur and London.

At a time when the government is advocating transparency and accountancy, shouldn’t Siew be promoting these good values? Will it not be a feather in his cap, or is he waiting for the new minister to open yet another can of worms?

Are there “red files” in MTB, similarly to those in the Finance Ministry, to which access had been restricted?

Perhaps, even the director-general of Tourism Malaysia may have been kept in the dark. If Treasury guidelines had been broken, who is going to take responsibility? They cannot, as in the past, dump the whole thing on the director-general, who may have just been taking instructions.

Shouldn’t the old culture be discarded in favour of an open system, which has been promised by the present government in its pre-election campaign? Shouldn’t MTB lead by example for other government agencies to follow?

At the end of it all, the new tourism minister – if he or she is appointed – will have his or her hands full. All irregularities have to be addressed, even if these involve notable persons and their children.

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R NADESWARAN has been following happenings in the tourism industry for over three decades and is surprised that such malpractices still exist after a massive clean-up initiated by the director-general. Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com. -Mkini

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