KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was only ever to get a "symbolic salary” of RM1 a year when he was Selangor economic adviser, state official Juwairiya Zulkifli said today.

The Bukit Melawati assemblyman who is also political secretary to Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari was refuting Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who claimed that before becoming prime minister, Anwar had been paid RM15 million for the state post.

"During YAB Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's tenure as Selangor economic adviser, he was only given a symbolic salary of RM1 per year.

"The salary has not been paid to him since the date of appointment. He did not receive any allowance or privileges other than the RM1 salary,” she said in a statement posted on Facebook page of the state-owned Media Selangor.

Juwairiya said Muhyiddin’s allegation during an election campaign speech for the Padang Serai parliamentary seat in Kedah was not new and had been repeated numerous times despite being untrue.

She added that the recycled allegation showed PN’s level of desperation and lack of political capital after failing to form the federal government following the November 19 general election.

"The act of spreading slander and false allegations to cloud the minds of the people is very irresponsible and clearly out of the heart of Malay-Islam politics that they always chant.

"I believe that the voters of Padang Serai should reject PN in today's election because they still want to collect votes with slander and fabrication.

"I believe that the YAB Prime Minister should take further action to prevent the repetition of this slander continued to be peddled by those who are morally and ethically bankrupt in politics,” Juwairiya said.

Anwar was first appointed Selangor economic adviser in November 2009 when the late Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim was mentri besar.

He continued to hold the post even after his jailing in 2015 on a sodomy charge during the Selangor leadership of Datuk Seri Azmin Ali.

He was given a full royal pardon and released from prison in early 2018 after the Pakatan Harapan electoral victory.

Polling for the Padang Serai parliamentary seat and Tioman state seat in Pahang began at 8am today, after being deferred following the deaths of two candidates during the 15th general election.