FirstPrime
Minister Ismail Sabri said the RM30 million renovation of the Prime Minister’s
official residence – Seri Perdana – was done after taking into consideration
safety factors and to uphold the country’s image when welcoming foreign guests.
The renovation includes electrical improvement, mechanical wiring,
air-conditioning systems and structural renovation
Even
though Seri Perdana is already 22 years, it does not make sense that the
official residence of the prime minister would be in a shape worse than that of
the average Joe and Jane’s house, apartment, flat or condominium built in the
same year. And it’s certainly a lie to say a 22-year-old property could suffer
the extent of damages as described by both Ismail Sabri and Muhyiddin Yassin.
First,
Prime Minister Ismail Sabri said the RM30 million renovation of the Prime
Minister’s official residence – Seri Perdana – was done after taking into
consideration safety factors and to uphold the country’s image when welcoming
foreign guests. The renovation includes electrical improvement, mechanical
wiring, air-conditioning systems and structural renovation.
The
scope of the renovation also involved replacing old furniture to fit the status
of the Malaysian leader. Then, Special Functions Minister Abdul Latiff Ahmad
revealed that the cost of the renovations was actually higher – RM38.5 million
– after it attracted criticisms and scrutiny. He claimed the renovations were
necessary as the building had “suffered a lot of damage” in the 22 years since
it was built.
Latiff
said the project, which was approved on March 19 by then-PM Muhyiddin Yassin
(before his resignation on August 16), commenced on March 29 and was expected
to be completed by Dec 7 this year. While saying the renovations is 74%
completed, Mr Latiff, however, refused or dared not elaborate what he meant
with “suffered a lot of damage”.
Today, Muhyiddin, clearly caught with his pants down, finally stepped forward to admit that he personally approved the RM38.5 million renovations. To justify his approval, the former PM began to whine, moan and bitch about old lighting systems, poor flooring conditions, leaking roof, piping systems that damaged built-in cabinets, wooden flooring, wall panels and whatnot.
Heck,
Mr Muhyiddin even claimed that so-called experts told him that the Prime
Minister’s official residence could pose a fire risk if repairs were not
carried out immediately. He talked as if Seri Perdana is on the brink of
collapse with physical damage and obsolete wiring so terrifying that it made
any 50-year-old low cost flats in the country look like Bill Gates’ mansion.
So,
was the renovations approved to uphold the country’s image, as if there are
foreign dignitaries who really wanted to come and stay during the current
Covid-19 pandemic, or were there really serious damages in the first place? PM
Sabri’s statement did not sound life threatening three days ago, but
Muhyiddin’s remarks today suggest that the entire residence was not fit for
human beings.
Is
there anyone who actually believes that an official residence for the prime
minister would be left unattended and allowed to be deteriorated to such a
deplorable level? Was the residence totally unoccupied and without any
housekeeping? The clueless, incompetent and corrupt governments of Ismail Sabri
and his predecessor Muhyiddin Yassin should stop insulting people’s
intelligence.
The
best part was when Muhyiddin said he never occupied Seri Perdana during his
time as prime minister. Exactly why did Mahiaddin alias Muhyiddin see it as a
jolly good decision to splash RM38.5 million renovations on a residence that he
never plan to occupy? Worse, why waste so much taxpayer’s money during a time
when people were struggling to put food on the table?
Even
a low cost house constructed in the 1980s, which was built with inferior
materials than Seri Perdana designed in 1990s for the most powerful man in the
country, does not suffer damages that could pose a fire risk today. Unless the
Prime Minister’s official residence was a “squatter house”, the exorbitant
RM38.5 million renovations were nothing but yet another corruption project.
Crooked
Najib was ousted in the May 2018 General Election, the first defeat for the
corrupt Barisan Nasional government in 61 years since independence in 1957. So,
the burning question is how could Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor lived there
comfortably and happily without any fear of being roasted due to potential
fire, let alone the risk of drowning as a result of leaking pipes?
When
Mahathir became the prime minister for the second stint in May 2018, he and
wife Siti Hasmah decided not to move to Seri Perdana. The official reason was
that the PM’s official residence was too huge. The unofficial reason – the
residence was not only tainted with negative energy, but was corrupted by years
of dark black magic thanks to Auntie Rosie.
That
explains why even Muhyiddin had refused to move into Seri Perdana. Regardless
whether the residence was haunted by evil ghosts or polluted with black magic,
there was absolutely no reason to splurge RM38.5 million on the mansion. If there
isn’t any black magic, it’s even worse to waste that money, considering Najib
and Rosmah had stayed there just three years ago.
In
truth, over the years, there had been many rounds of renovations on Seri
Perdana. In the Budget 2011, a new round of renovations to the tune of RM65
million was proposed under Najib administration. During Abdullah Badawi
premiership, the same residence had also undergone several rounds of
renovations. Every time a new prime minister takes over, renovations take
place.
Yes,
Najib should be the last person qualified to grill Muhyiddin over the RM38.5
renovations. Both former prime ministers were equally corrupt in approving
renovations during their respective administration in exchange for kickbacks.
From the beginning, the Prime Minister’s Palace was designed to enrich the
prime minister of the day with dubious projects.
Actually,
till today, nobody knows the actual cost of building Seri Perdana. In July
1998, Mahathir administration said the home of the prime minister would cost
only RM17 million. Later, UMNO warlord Nazri Aziz said the cost was RM24.17
million. Then the Parliament was told the total cost was RM75.4 million. In May
1999, the government said another RM45 million on “software” had to be spent.
By
2003, then-Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz
revealed the sixth version of the cost of Seri Perdana – RM201 million. So, the
total cost had ballooned from RM17 million to RM201 million. But the real
killer is the cost of endless renovations every time a prime minister awards
the project to his relatives or cronies.
In
fact, it’s not an exaggeration to say RM38.5 million can build a new Seri
Perdana on existing land through open tenders. Still, the residence is too
huge. At 56,000 square feet, Seri Perdana is roughly the size of the Ground
Floor, State Floor, and residence floors of the White House, which is
approximately 55,000 square feet.
Even
the notorious former Selangor Chief Minister Khir Toyo reportedly had spent
only RM20 million building his bungalow, including exclusive top-of-the-range
fixtures and furniture from Bali, on a 50,000 square feet of land. Of course,
Mr Khir claimed he took a RM3.5 million loan to buy the sprawling
Balinese-style mansion, which, if true, is cheaper by more than 10 times the
Seri Perdana’s renovations.
So
far, we have not heard that Khir Toyo had to spend RM38.5 million in fixing
damages due to wear and tear on his bungalow. But when you think how Muhyiddin
blatantly spent a jaw-dropping RM35 million to build three useless halls in
Johor, the scandal involving Seri Perdana renovations makes perfect sense. It
was another project that screams corruption.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should start investigating the renovation project. The contractors and the details of the renovations should be revealed to all and sundry to see. You can build hundreds of affordable houses for the poor, or feed more than 5,000 people with Kentucky Fried Chicken “dinner plate” for an entire year (365 days).
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