PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli said a RM34 million government exhibition to promote Putrajaya’s achievements ahead of the 14th general election is a waste of funds at a time when people have to tighten their belts.

The Pandan MP said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan must explain the need and price tag for the ongoing Expo Negaraku at Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur.

“We want to know how much (Expo Negaraku) cost. The people will not appreciate you spent between RM30 million and RM40 million to organise this,” said Rafizi, who came under fire from Rahman yesterday for falsely alleging the contract for the expo was given to the minister’s brother. 

Rafizi added information on the expo was not listed on the government’s procurement website.

“All government tenders, even direct negotiations, are supposed to be made public on the website,” said Rafizi.

He said industry sources told him Expo Negaraku is estimated to cost about RM34 million.

The expo, which started on November 15 and ends on Friday, is to promote large-scale infrastructure projects initiated by the government.

Rafizi had alleged yesterday Raslan Dahlan, the chief executive officer of event management company Pico Integrated Exhibits (M) Sdn Bhd, who is organising the expo, is Rahman’s brother.

He said today he had removed the video and press statement he made yesterday from his social media and blog yesterday after confirming that he made a mistake about Raslan.

“I’m ready to apologise to Raslan but not Rahman Dahlan,” he said.

As a federal minister, he said Rahman is expected to answer questions and allegations affecting public interest. – December 12, 2017.