Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen was absent from the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, but barracking lawmakers ensured that her ‘presence’ still loomed large.

As h ng yen yen er deputy James Dawos Mamit took the floor to wind up on points raised about the ministry in the Budget 2011 debate, he was hounded over its recent blunders and expenses.

Even before he could begin, opposition MPs demanded to know where Ng (right) was.

 

“Where is the tourism minister or, more accurately. the ‘tourist minister’?” one asked.

 

Deputy speaker Ronald Kiandee put a stop to the jeering, saying that the rules allow for the deputy minister to take questions in the absence of the minister.

The ministry has had to answer in recent weeks for Ng’s lavish travel expenses and for language errors in its promotional brochures. This was exacerbated by a reported 70 percent reduction in tourism promotions.

 

Anthony Loke (DAP-Rasah) demanded to know how 12 spelling errors could have occurred in the brochure - distributed at the Shanghai World Expo - if the ministry had done its job.

He asked for the printing costs and what action would be taken against the officer in charge and the printer.

 

anthony loke “I will read one line from the brochure: ‘... to know more about Malaysia we incite (instead of invite) you to step inside the Malaysia Pavilion’ . Is it such a seditious thing to visit the Malaysia pavilion?

 

“I want an explanation from the minister but I haven’t seen her here for a long time. But she has admitted through the media that the errors were made by the printer in China.”

Ministry’s explanation

 

Dawos responded that the ministry had printed 5,000 well-proofread brochures in the country before distributing these in Shanghai.

 

As dr james dawos mamit all the brochures were distributed on the first day of the exhibition, the ministry was required to print more using a printer in China, Dawos said.

 

“We sent a CD with the soft copy of the brochure and the printing was done in China using the soft copy, but mistakes occurred.”  

He then attempted to defend the use of the word ‘incite’.

NONE “If we incite you to come in, we mean that we try to give you little force. So you see it is not so wrong!” Dawos said.

However, Loke pointed out that the word means ‘to provoke’, and pressed for an answer as to the action being taken against the printer.

 

“Did we ask for a refund? Did we ask the printer to apologise? What has the ministry done?”

 

Dawos said the ministry will take up the suggestion for a refund.