AYER KEROH – Former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has decided to reject the land gift awarded by the government, a privilege given to all former Prime Ministers.
He said, the decision was made to pacify the uproar caused by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, although in principle, the award is the right of all ex-Prime Ministers of Malaysia.
He took the action after the issue has become the political capital of the opposition parties in the Melaka state election campaign.
“I am aware, and I understand that while the people are facing a difficult time, the priority of the country should be the people,” he said in a news conference today.
He also suggested for the Prime Minister to relook into the privilege as the issues has created unease among the people.
“If necessary, withdraw the allocation to all former PMs, including those after me,” he said.
However, the government does not need to revoke the allocation to the former Prime Ministers who have received the land.
Najib, who is also the Member of Parliament of Pekan added that he made the application for the residence as provided in the government act, thus, he can also revoke the application he made in 2018.
Although the budget has not been approved, he decided to reject it after understanding the situation faced by the people after the Covid-19 pandemic.
During the news conference, Najib expressed his astonishment towards the opposition who tried use the matter as their campaign capital, although, he is not a candidate of the Melaka State Election.
Najib, who is also the Barisan Nasional (BN) Advisory Board Chairman said that he did not know the price of the land but was surprised when it was evaluated as RM100 million.
Meanwhile, that is an existing government land, and it was presented to him as an option under the government’s act.
According to Najib, he never requested the government to spend any money to buy that land or asked the government to give him that land.
“My wife and I have become materials for Maharaja Lawak Mega, pictures of my wife have been edited, my pictures have been used in DAP’s squid game and many others. I am not even a candidate in Melaka or hold any top post in UMNO.
“My face is not in the posters in Melaka. What has hating me to do with the Melaka State Election?
“Whatever the opponents are thinking, the people of Melaka would hate me? What did the Malaysians get after GE14 by hating me?” he questioned.
The Dewan Rakyat turned upheaval during the rounding of Supply Bill 2022 debate after the Member of Parliament of Langkawi, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad questioned the RM100 million allocation given to Najib in the form of assets.
Dr Mahathir said, according to the regulation, a detailed budget must be presented to the Dewan Rakyat for debate before it was approved.
“It should have been stated in the budget about this gift. I was the Prime Minister for 22 years, but I never took any land, just my pension.
“Here, after working for a while, stealing money, embezzling funds, misusing money and abusing power, the government is giving him a gift worth RM100 million.
“How can the government allocate such gifts to a convicted person?” Dr Mahathir questioned.
He also made a comparison between the official Prime Minister’s Residence in Putrajaya where he resided during his reign as the premier that costed RM26 million to the land and house for a convicted leader that would cost RM100 million.
He also quipped that perhaps the house would be designed like a jail as it would utilize too much of cost.
“This person is supposed to be in the jail, but he is free to roam around, go to Singapore. I hope that the minister can answer this. Thank you,” he said.
The privilege to Najib would include the ownership of 120,000 square metres of land in Kuala Lumpur, as well as the construction of a bungalow on the site. -MalaysiaGazette
