The documents, sighted by Malay Mail, showed that Anwar, who is also the finance minister, had signed off RM990 million this year and demanded former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin apologise for his remarks.
“Therefore, I urge Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to apologise for the slander thrown at me,” he said in a statement today.
Prior to that, Muhyiddin had sent a letter of demand to Anwar seeking an apology and retraction for claiming the former did not implement a debt waiver scheme for Felda settlers.
The letter of demand dated yesterday gave Anwar 24 hours from time of receipt to comply, failing which Muhyiddin’s lawyers would begin a defamation lawsuit against the prime minister.
On July 7, Anwar announced a restructuring programme that would wipe off most of the RM8.3 billion in debt amassed by Felda settlers, saying Muhyiddin had failed to execute this when he had still been the PM.
The next day, Muhyiddin insisted he had been responsible for executing this decision in 2021, accusing Anwar of lying to claim credit.
Anwar responded by saying Muhyiddin’s administration had only agreed to the debt waiver, but never followed through with it, which was why he could still do it now in 2023.
Among other things, Anwar said the funds for the programme were only allocated in the Budget 2023 that he tabled in February, and were nowhere to be seen in either Budget 2021 or 2022. MM
PM provides proof on Felda claim, tells Muhyiddin to apologise
The Prime Minister’s Office releases two documents to show that Anwar Ibrahim signed a debt waiver scheme for Felda settlers.
PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has provided proof that he signed a debt waiver scheme for Felda settlers.
Media outlets were today provided with two documents – a government guarantee issued to Felda, and a RM990 million payment instruction from the government to the authority.
“I present a portion of the Assignment for Financial Service Reserve Account (FSRA) document related to the government’s guarantee to Felda that I have signed,” said Anwar in a statement.
“I urge Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to apologise for slandering me.”
In the letter of demand dated July 18, Muhyiddin also wanted Anwar, within 24 hours of receiving the letter, to furnish signed documentation that Anwar, as the finance minister, had at the end of June signed a debt waiver scheme for the Felda settlers.
In a separate statement today, the finance ministry confirmed that Anwar had signed the FSRA assignment agreement on June 26.
“This agreement involves the government’s guarantee of RM9.9 billion to (Felda) for its debt restructuring exercise, through the issuance of sukuk and revolving credit as an effort to recover Felda’s financial standing.
“Under this agreement, the government will fund the repayment of the sukuk with a grant allocation of RM990 million per year for a duration of 10 years,” it said.
The ministry also confirmed that the first payment of RM990 million had been disbursed on July 18, in accordance with the allocations announced under Budget 2023.
Previously, Anwar had claimed that under the Perikatan Nasional government’s 2021 and 2022 national budgets, there had been no allocations to resolve and dispose of Felda’s debts.
He said it was only in this year’s Madani budget that he had set aside RM990 million as an early allocation to dispose of the Felda settlers’ debts of RM8.3 billion. FMT
MALAY MAIL / FREE MALAYSIA TODAY
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