Najib: Muhyiddin said govt has no money but can renovate his official residence

 

Umno's Pekan MP Najib Abdul Razak has criticised Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin for commissioning the renovation of Seri Perdana when he was the prime minister in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The renovation works to the prime minister's official residence began in March 2021, a month before Muhyiddin declared to the public that the government "didn't have much money left" due to the pandemic.

"RM38.5 million should not be spent for this during the pandemic as it is insensitive to the people who have been appealing for various aid due to the continuous movement control orders.

"More so when it was spent when the eighth prime minister said the government didn't have much money left as the previous Perikatan Nasional government had to spend RM600 billion (on stimulus packages)," Najib said in a statement on Facebook.

The former prime minister also questioned how the government did not have money to help the people but could afford to renovate Seri Perdana.

"The renovation cost of RM38.5 million also far surpasses the RM24.17 million cost to construct the building in 2000," Najib added.

Former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin

On April 12, Muhyiddin visited the Sikh community in Petaling Jaya where he shared about the government's difficult financial position.

"So much money has been spent last year and this year. Why? For Covid-19. This included various stimulus packages totalling RM340 billion and RM322 billion allocation for the national budget.

"I went to school, but I am not good at calculation... how much it adds up... it's more than RM600 billion - that's a big sum of money.

"What I am trying to say here is, we don't have much money left," Muhyiddin had said.

Muhyiddin resigned as the prime minister on Aug 16, after losing his majority in the Dewan Rakyat due to manoeuvring by a group of 15 Umno MPs (Umno 15) which included Najib.

He was succeeded by Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who is a rival of the Umno 15 and remains friendly to Muhyiddin.

Ismail Sabri largely retained Muhyiddin's cabinet and appointed him as the National Recovery Council chairperson. - Mkini