KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 — DAP MP Liew Chin Tong questioned today the cost of the “Alaf Baru” (New Millennium) monument and the Morocco pavilion in Putrajaya, labelling the structures white elephants from Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad’s legacy.

The Bukit Bendera MP queried the government during Question Time in Parliament over the purpose of the structures and their costs, pointing out that they had brought no benefit to the public.

“What is the purpose of their existence? How much did they cost and how much has been spent to maintain them since they were built?” he asked the House.

Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Deputy Minister Datuk M. Saravanan defended the structures and told the House that they were built to record Malaysia’s achievements, history and the success stories of its past leaders.

“The information is displayed in the design as a monument of historical value,” he explained.

He added that the cost to construct the New Millennium monument was RM21 million while RM20 million was spent to build the Morocco pavilion.

“The annual cost of maintenance for the monument is at RM93,000 and for the pavilion, it costs about RM250,000 to maintain it, including special cleaning for the pond and ‘khat’ writings on the walls and door,” he said.

Saravanan claimed both structures attracted both local and foreign tourists.

In his supplementary question, Liew asked for the number of tourists to both structures since completion last year and if the government could give its assurance that they would not become white elephants like the Putrajaya International Convention Centre.

“For your information, in 2009, the Morocco pavilion was visited by 8,500 tourists.

“Also, although Putrajaya is our country’s administrative capital, there is also a need to build structures to draw tourists. I am confident that both the New Millennium monument and the Morocco pavilion would not become white elephants,” said Saravanan. At the Parliament lobby later, Saravanan said that the government was always finding ways to boost tourism in Putrajaya.

“We have events like the flora fest, the sailing week, the Putrajaya night marathon and these events attract many tourists.

“We are always finding ways and means to improve, so we do welcome suggestions,” he said.

He insisted however that the two structures in question were not white elephants and were monuments of historical value for the country.

“They are not just for aesthetic value. Like I mentioned, we get about 8,500 tourists to the Morocco pavilion in a year,” he said.

Liew however insisted that the structures were merely “fantasies” of former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s whims and fancies and served no purpose to the people or the government.

“Look at the monument, for example. They have held not a single function there since it was built. It was built to replace the Tugu Negara in Kuala Lumpur... But we are paying too much for it, to maintain it, to construct it,” he said.

As an example of the government’s extravagance, Liew pointed out that the government was spending RM1 billion in rental to Putrajaya Holdings for use of its office spaces.

“We have to re-look our methods and how we keep spending and spending without thinking twice on the returns and purpose,” he said.

He suggested for the government to use both the New Millennium monument and the pavillion as a place for shows and exhibitions to attract more people.

“If you think of is, 8,500 tourists annually is too little... That means only about 20 people come by every day,” said Liew.