DAP today questioned the deputy prime minister's "luxury" five-day work trip to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, saying that it only amounted to three hours of work. Citing documents posted on a whistleblower’s blog, Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari and Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim Chee Keong said Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin seemed to spend 10 hours on the golf course and two whole days on "private programmes". "The deputy prime minister appears to be enjoying a five-day golf holiday in Dubai at the expense of Malaysian taxpayers. "Surely there are many questions to be answered, especially if this trip is to be paid for by the public purse," he said at a press conference at the parliament lobby today. Muhyiddin, who is also the education minister, is in Dubai until April 12. According to an itinerary which was allegedly Muhyiddin's and distributed by the two MPs to the media, the deputy prime minister and his wife departed for Dubai yesterday via a "special aircraft" and are staying at the 5-star Shangri-La Hotel Dubai for the entire trip. The itinerary stated that he attended the Gulf Education and Training Exhibition (Getex) 2014 opening ceremony and officiated the Education Malaysia Pavilion today. He also took courtesy calls from the UAE Education Minister and Culture, Youth and Social Development Minister, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on higher education. "All the above programmes are scheduled to occupy his time from 10am to 1pm today. Thereafter, he would depart to the Montgomerie Golf Club, and this will be followed by a cruise dinner. "The remaining days in Dubai will be spent on private programmes and the occasional informal dinner with a few business figures and Malaysian diaspora. On the final day, he has another golf engagement," said Zairil. Sim said Malaysians have the right to know who is footing the bill for Muhyiddin's trip, including the cost of the aircraft and accommodation. He said the Education ministry had been allocated RM54 billion - the largest budget among all ministries for this year - and yet, education standards continue to freefall as evident in students’ performance in international assessments. "While there is no doubt that education is a critical area to be focusing our resources on, the Government should be spending on programmes that improve student outcomes and not on expensive leisure trips for the deputy prime minister to play golf," he said. He called on the Auditor General to investigate this trip as well as other trips Muhyiddin had taken. – April 9, 2014. TMI
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