TIONG ADMITS MISTAKE, REGRETS GALA DINNER CONTROVERSY

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 (Bernama) -- Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing has admitted his mistake in organising the gala dinner in conjunction with the Global Travel Meet that sparked a controversy recently.

During Minister’s Question Time at Dewan Rakyat today, Tiong also expressed regret over the controversy of serving alcoholic beverages at the dinner, which caused discomfort among the people.

"I and MOTAC (Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture) deeply regret any confusion or misunderstanding that caused discomfort among the people. Any inconvenience is deeply regretted.

"I should have announced that night that the gala dinner had become a private function. I admit my mistake for not announcing it (not an official government programme) earlier,” he said.

He was responding to a question from Wan Hassan Mohd Ramli (PN-Dungun) regarding the ministry’s guidelines to ensure that official functions, including those sponsored by the private sector or industry, comply with Service Circular 3/2003, especially the ban on serving alcoholic beverages in official government programmes.

Tiong also stressed that MOTAC views all public feedback on the issue seriously and at the same time, appreciates the constructive criticism and advice of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the matter.

He said the ministry also gave an assurance that it would continue to ensure that every official engagement from now on complies with government guidelines.

Responding to a supplementary question from Datuk Seri Doris Brodi (GPS-Sri Aman) on the impact of the Global Travel Meet, Tiong said the event successfully attracted the participation of nearly 600 tourism industry players from abroad.

He said the three-day event also successfully recorded overall transactions of RM420 million.

-- BERNAMA