PETALING JAYA: Najib Razak has responded to the uproar surrounding news that he has applied for a plot of land and a house in Kuala Lumpur allegedly worth RM100 million, stating that such benefits were accorded to him as a former prime minister.
“My office only asked to be given a residence after GE14 as allowed in the amended act (Members of Parliament (Remuneration) Act),” said Najib in a Facebook post.
“The government gave me three plots of land to choose from, so I chose one.
“I did not ask for a RM100 million gift from the government, but housing is given to all former prime ministers,” he said.
Najib said the RM100 million value was given by a pro-Perikatan Nasional news portal, claiming that the story on his application for a house was released to coincide with the Melaka state election.
“This is even though my application was made in 2018 after GE14,” he said.
Finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz confirmed today that Putrajaya had received an application from Najib for a property said to be located at Bukit Petaling, sparking pandemonium in the Dewan Rakyat.
Opposition MPs, including former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, criticised the move, with Mahathir also questioning the impact of Najib’s tenure.
Pakatan Harapan said it may be forced to review its pact with Putrajaya after the revelation, with opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim stating that “gifting” Najib the assets would be immoral and illogical since Najib had been found guilty of corruption by the KL High Court.
FMT
The Stringer 