Najib hits back, dredges up claim of Dr M's 34-acre Langkawi property lease

Pekan MP Najib Abdul Razak has hit back at Dr Mahathir Mohamad over privileges accorded to former prime ministers.

While Mahathir claims he has not taken any privileges as a former premier, Najib countered that the Langkawi MP had benefited in other ways.

Taking to Facebook, Najib dredged up a claim that Mahathir had been offered in 2014 a 60-year lease on a 34-acre (13.8ha) beachfront property, for just RM3,200 per year.

"When this Langkawi land was offered, your son (Mukhriz) was the Kedah menteri besar. Right?" Najib asked.

The lease was reportedly granted by the Langkawi Development Authority (Lada), which Mahathir was the adviser of from 2003 until 2016.

The allegations that Mahathir had secured a land lease in Langkawi first emerged in 2018 prior to the general election that year on blog sites and government-linked media.

The issue resurfaced after Mahathir began questioning Najib's request for a plot of land and government housing reportedly valued at RM100 million, as part of his privilege as a former prime minister.

Lada chief executive officer Nasaruddin Abdul Mutalib - who took office in May this year - told Sinar Harian on Saturday that he had no information regarding the land lease.

Mahathir yesterday said Najib did not deserve grand government housing, citing the latter's criminal cases.

He said in comparison, the country's first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman was just gifted a wooden house as part of his privilege.

Najib also took a swing at Mahathir's son Mukhriz, over logging rights for a 1,000-hectare plot of land in Sarawak which the latter was allegedly granted in 1994.

Mukhriz previously said he was only helping a friend secure the land rights and that he did not benefit much from it.

These were among several other allegations that Najib took quick jabs at in his Facebook post today.

He also reiterated that the housing he asked for - and has since "rejected" - was his legal right.

The Members of Parliament (Remuneration) Act includes a section where former prime ministers are entitled to privileges as determined by the cabinet.

Najib claimed that the privilege of housing was stipulated by the cabinet in May 2003, five months before Mahathir retired from his first tenure as prime minister. - Mkini