‘No lavish govt Raya celebrations please’
PUTRAJAYA: Government bodies must not go overboard in hosting Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations, says the Prime Minister.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said they must be conscious and wise when spending public funds, particularly for matters like festivities and celebrations.

“We must be mindful because there are still some who lack comfort and do not have access to facilities, all of which we must look into and work on improving,” he said at the Finance Ministry’s monthly gathering here yesterday.

Anwar said there was no need to compete to see which agency could host the grandest event.

“Remember that the money is not ours. Just a simple celebration will do,” he said.

Anwar also said there will not be a grand-scale Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house at Seri Perdana – the official residence of the Prime Minister in Putrajaya.

Instead, he said he would be joining Hari Raya events organised by ministries in several states.

“I will be attending these events so that there will be no additional cost incurred if an open house is to be held at Seri Perdana,” he said.

Since he took office, Anwar has done away with hosting a Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house at Seri Perdana.

On another matter, the Prime Minister asked heads of departments and agencies to give back to the community by helping the kampung folk.

He said these high-ranking officials could use their influence, knowledge and experience to help their local community contact departments, write letters on their behalf and see to it that the issues were acknowledged and acted upon by the relevant departments.

“These senior officials have the responsibility to help people in their kampung. They have made it in life and they should see what can be done for their orang kampung.

“They can help identify the hardcore poor or those who have problems pursuing an education and see what can be done to help,” he said.
PUTRAJAYA: Government bo­dies must not go overboard in hosting Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations, says the Prime Minister.