Retract Felda debt claim, Muhyiddin tells Anwar

 

Muhyiddin Yassin (left) has demanded that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim retract his statement and issue an apology.

PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin has issued Anwar Ibrahim a letter of demand over the latter’s claim that the Perikatan Nasional government did not write off RM8.3 billion in loans granted to Felda settlers.

Muhyiddin demanded the prime minister retract his statement within 24 hours and issue an apology, or he would be sued.

At a Felda event earlier this month, Anwar claimed Muhyiddin’s administration announced that it would write off RM8.3 billion in loans granted to Felda settlers, but the move was never implemented.

Anwar, who is also finance minister, insisted that he had signed the loan waiver, claiming there were no allocations for the initiative in the 2021 and 2022 budgets.

Muhyiddin challenged the Pakatan Harapan chairman to furnish the document which he had purportedly signed to approve the loan waiver.

He also wanted Anwar to take down all web postings containing his claim and to pay damages.

“If you fail to comply with these demands within the stated period, we have been asked to initiate legal action against you,” said Muhyiddin’s solicitors, Messrs Rosli Dahlan Saravana Partnership in the letter of demand.

Previously, Muhyiddin said former Felda chairman Idris Jusoh had issued a statement on Feb 24 confirming that RM8.3 billion of Felda settlers’ total debt of RM12.1 billion was waived in 2021, and that it had a major impact on Felda’s cash flow.

In a written parliamentary reply on Feb 23, law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said also said the government was putting a halt to an initiative started by Muhyiddin’s administration to abolish a portion of Felda settler’s loans amounting to RM8.3 billion. - FMT