KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 — Datuk Seri Ng Yen Yen denied today that the Tourism Ministry overpaid nearly RM270 million for advertisements last year, despite a finding by the Auditor-General that showed direct negotiations in breach of government rules had contributed to the extra amount.She provided no explanation, however, as to why the Auditor-General’s report tabled in Parliament this week had singled out her ministry for breaching Treasury rules.
“Ministry of Tourism Malaysia did not overspend, did not spend more... The report says that the amount of direct buy is more but not the total amount of promotion is more, there’s a difference,” Ng told reporters today following the launch of Art Expo Malaysia 2011 here.
The Auditor-General had reported that the ministry had overpaid in advertising fees when it chose to use direct bookings instead of open tenders, to which Ng said, “Direct [negotiations] can be conducted.”
“[With] direct [negotiation,] you deal directly with the media, you do away with intermediary. The prices we paid are never above the market price,” she said.
“However, I have instructed my secretary-general to do a full study of this report and take all necessary steps to fine tune and strengthen the management.”
When asked if the ministry would be opting for open tenders in the future, Ng said the ministry will do “whatever is best for us”.
“When you buy from media directly, a lot of intermediaries are off. Their price is standard,” she said, adding that it was impossible for companies to overcharge the ministry because “we know the price”.
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