Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has refuted a statement made by ex-premier Muhyiddin Yassin that he lied about the disposal of Felda settlers’ debts.
Anwar said as the finance minister, he had just signed the approval of the disposal of debts at the end of last month.
“Today, the former prime minister (Muhyiddin) issued a statement that I was lying, that this matter has been completed in 2021.
“How can you say you have completed it, (when) I just signed it at the end of June. So, when you said it was completed, which part did you complete?” he asked during the “Temu Anwar” programme at Universiti Utara Malaysia yesterday.
Commenting further, Anwar said there was indeed an agreement by the previous government to dispose of the debt involved, but it was not implemented.
“Budget 2021 and Budget 2022 tabled by Perikatan Nasional had no provision to settle and dispose of Felda settlers’ debts. I stand by this record.
“Only in Budget Madani 2023 did I start to set aside over RM990 million as an early allocation to dispose of Felda settlers’ debts amounting to RM8.3 billion,” he said.
Earlier, Felda’s chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek confirmed Muhyiddin never followed through on the pledge by his government in 2021 to waive billions in Felda settlers’ debt.
“Previously, when Tan Sri was the PM, you said the government would give (Felda) RM1 billion each year for 10 years. This should have started in 2022, but it didn’t happen. It never came to fruition.
“It was only promised, not implemented. Because there was no formal document with Felda to help settle its debt,” Ahmad Shabery said on Facebook yesterday.
Instead, it was Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s national unity government that followed through with the arrangement, he said,
The Anwar government both formalised the debt restructuring and committed to paying Felda up to RM1 billion yearly for the next decade to ensure its liabilities could be cleared, Ahmad Shabery said.