Be frank if you want luxury cars, Harapan man tells Kelantan leaders

Kelantan state government leaders should refrain from making excuses and be straight-forward if they want luxury cars, said state Pakatan Harapan chairperson Husam Musa.

"I notice that there is a practice in Kelantan where after excos finish their terms, the official cars become theirs and in my opinion, the (recent) purchases are their preparation to own a luxury car when the current government's term is over.

"Those official cars will become their personal cars. As a result, the next government has to buy new cars.

"When I was an exco, there was a decision to buy new cars. Other excos got new cars except for me. I (continued to) use my old Mercedes Benz," he told the media in Kelantan.

Husam also expressed disappointment with the Kelantan deputy menteri besar for using the name of the late Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat to support his action.

"Why (did he) resort to using Tok Guru's (Nik Aziz) name? Why not just use his own name... the car which Tok Guru used was inherited from BN and gifted by the sultan," he said.

Last week, Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Mohd Amar Abdullah recalled how Nik Aziz wanted to sell his official car, which was also a Mercedes-Benz, after courting criticism.

Mohd Amar said he had advised Nik Aziz not to do so and to ignore the critics.

Husam's criticism came after the state government had purchased a total of 14 Mercedes-Benz cars with different engine sizes with an unspecified cost.

Menteri Besar Ahmad Yakob's official car, however, is an S450L AMG Line with a reported price tag of above RM600,000.

Ahmad Yaakob said the state government had obtained a 50 percent discount on the fleet, but Husam claimed that such a statement was not transparent.

"The remarks from the state government leader are not transparent. Such a discount could also be obtained from the purchase of other cars.

"If (they) buy cheaper cars and get a discount, the spending will be smaller. This situation shows that the state government leader is a hypocrite," he said.

Husam said the state leaders should be ashamed of themselves as they had promoted Islam as practising moderation in line with the current situation of the majority of the people.

"We know Kelantan is among the states with the most people in poverty.

"By flashing this luxury (car), it hurts the feelings of the people as they are struggling to fulfil basic needs. The state government's allocation should go to the people's welfare," he said. - Mkini