KUCHING: The Sarawak state government follows clear and stringent guidelines for official working trips abroad, the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly was told today.
Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said that any state minister who wishes to go on overseas trips needs the approval of the cabinet.
“We follow a clear and stringent guideline with well established policy. We (state ministers) who want to go abroad must get the approval of the Cabinet or they cannot go.
“All the details (of the trip’s expenses) will be examined by the State Financial Secretary,“ he said during the third reading of the Supplementary Supply (2024) Bill.
The bill, involving an amount of RM68,746,470, is an additional expenditure to cover the costs of various services incurred by different Ministries and Departments, for which funds were either not provided or were insufficiently allocated in the 2024 Estimates and the First Supplementary Estimates 2024.
Earlier, Chong Chieng Jen (DAP-Padungan) filed a notice to the assembly to inquire about a detailed breakdown of expenditures under the bill, including travel expenses for Sarawak’s Ministry of Public Health, Housing, and Local Government.
