Muhyddin ready to be investigated on RM600 billion misappropriation allegation

SHAH ALAM - Former Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyddin Yassin is not afraid to be investigated on RM600 billion misappropriation of government fund allegation during his premiership. The Perikatan Nasional chairman stressed he had never misused any government fund which was meant to be used for the people especially during a difficult period like the Covid-19 pandemic. "I'm not sure where this figure (RM600 billion) was quoted from. I assume they (Pakatan Harapan) were referring to the eight economic packages worth RM530 billion that was introduced during my tenure as the prime minister to help affected Malaysians during the pandemic. "No way I could have embezzled the money. The RM530 billion was mostly non-fiscal as it does not involve government expenditure which included the special incentives from Employees Provident Fund (EPF) such as i-Lestari, i-Sinar, i-Citra worth RM145 billion, a reduction in EPF payments worth RM10 billion, a moratorium on bank loan payments for individuals and companies worth RM180 billion, government guarantees for company loans worth RM80 billion and initiatives others that were aimed to ease the burden borne by individuals and businesses. "Not a single cent from this money goes into my personal account. If that happened, National Audit Department (NAD) would have caught this in the yearly audit report. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) should have presented this in the parliament," he said in a statement today. Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) would have got notifications if there were any transaction involving huge amount of money but nothing, he explained. "I don't think they would have let this slip. This involves a huge amount of money. It is a big issues. "I have resigned as prime minister over a year ago, I couldn't have hindered any investigations into this," he clarified. Muhyddin added that the country has a standard system and practice to guarantee transparency and accountability in government spending where all government spendings were subjected to government audit. "Therefore, if there were any suspicious audit findings, an audit warning will be made against the relevant government department and if there is misconduct or corruption, legal action can be taken against the perpetrator. "I believe the Finance Ministry through Economic Stimulus Implementation & Coordination Unit Between National Agencies (LAKSANA) has every detail of the expenditure for all eight Economic Stimulus Packages that were implemented when I was prime minister. " I'm not afraid of being investigated because I know I have never misappropriated government fund which is meant to be used for the people during difficult times," he said. He advised Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Umno leader not to keep on pointing fingers at others with baseless accusations as it seems like a cover up of the weakness of the present government. "You've become the government, act like a government. Stop playing political games. People want to know what the current government is capable of," he added. Pakatan Harapan (PH) had pledged that it would probe the spending of RM600 billion should it come to power during its campaign. On Nov 30, PH’s Hulu Langat MP Sany Hamzah lodged a police report calling for a probe into possible leakages in the expenditure of over RM600 billion under the PN-led government between March 2020 and August 2021. He later told reporters that an RCI should be established on the matter.