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Malaysia election 2022
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Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim speaks at a press conference at the prime minister’s office in Putrajaya, Malaysia on December 2. Photo: AP/File
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Malaysia PM Anwar tells Muhyiddin ‘don’t challenge me’, as he audits predecessor’s billion-ringgit projects

  • PM Anwar, who is also finance minister, said ‘tens of billions of ringgit’ in Covid relief during Muhyiddin’s time as premier was allocated without due procedure
  • Muhyiddin was prime minister from March 2020 to August 2021, and now leads the opposition
Malaysia election 2022
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Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he will review billions of ringgit worth of government projects that past administrations had approved, including flood mitigation plans and pandemic help packages.
Anwar, who is also finance minister, said “tens of billions of ringgit” in Covid relief during Muhyiddin Yassin’s time as premier was allocated without due procedure. Muhyiddin was prime minister from March 2020 to August 2021, and now leads the opposition.
Malaysian former Prime Minister and Perikatan Nasional Chairman Muhyiddin Yassin gestures during a news conference after Malaysia’s 15th general election on November 20. Photo: Reuters/File

“I want to remind Muhyiddin, do not challenge me because it’s clear there were several processes and procedures that weren’t followed, and there were companies with vested interests or linked to families,” Anwar told reporters on Tuesday, after clocking into the Finance Ministry for the first time.

Malaysia had spent about 83 billion ringgit (US$19 billion) on pandemic-related aid, including 5 billion ringgit for vaccine purchases and 21 billion ringgit for wage subsidies, Muhyiddin said Monday. “Not a single sen entered my personal accounts,” the former premier said. The National Audit Department and the central bank would have flagged it otherwise, he said.

“I am not afraid to be investigated because I know I didn’t divert the people’s funds that was entrusted to the government to use for the purpose of helping the people during difficult times,” he wrote on Facebook.

02:59

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Anwar on Tuesday said he was also scrutinising recent flood mitigation projects, adding that 7 billion ringgit of spending was approved through direct negotiations and he was putting a stop to it. An aide to the former minister of environment didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Anwar was named prime minister last month, ending a near-week-long political deadlock after the general election resulted in a hung parliament. His reformist Pakatan Harapan alliance won the most seats in the vote, 82 out of 222, while Muhyiddin’s Islamist-dominated Perikatan Nasional coalition came second with 73 seats.
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