Azmin lied by saying he did not know of previous cabinet approving several projects without tender as he was present during the meeting.
Dr Xavier Jayakumar today reminded Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz to be mindful when trying to play politics.
The former water, land and natural resources minister said instead of trying to play politics, Tengku Zafrul should pay more attention to economic matters.
“It is important for Zafrul when he wants to play politics, he is very new, and he comes from a corporate background.
“He is shooting his own foot and I think he should be more knowledgeable in the sense of economy and play the role of minister of finance,” he said during a press conference to refute on the 101 projects directly awarded by the Pakatan Harapan government.
Xavier’s comment comes after former finance minister Lim Guan Eng said PH only paid RM352 million in direct-negotiation payments during its 22 months in power.
Lim also revealed today that then home minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is now the prime minister under Perikatan Nasional, asked for RM517.7 million in direct-negotiation payments.
Zafrul in a sitting this week said PH paid RM6.61 billion in direct-negotiation payments for 101 projects.
Xavier also slammed his former PKR colleague, Azmin Ali, who yesterday said he had no knowledge of PH approving several projects without tender.
Citing the approval by the previous cabinet to allow the Klang Valley double-tracking project phase two (KVDT2) project to continue, Xavier said Azmin, who was then economic affairs minister, was present during the meeting.
“He was there during the meeting and now he is lying by saying he did not know of the approval.” – TMI