KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 18 — Perikatan Nasional chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has denied receiving any money when he was the chairman of the National Recovery Council (NRC), clarifying that the advisory body does not receive any government funding.

Muhyiddin, who was chairing the NRC, reportedly took his lawyer’s advice and resigned from the position before the 15th general election.

"Even when I was leading NRC, I did it pro bono and did not take a single sen as an allowance,” the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president was quoted saying by local daily New Straits Times (NST), pointing out that the advisory body, which is non-executive in function, did not receive any funding provision.

In denying allegations by Umno supreme council member Datuk Mohd Puad Zarkashi who suggested Muhyiddin had received hundreds of millions of ringgit as NRC chief previously, Muhyiddin said such claims were "lies”.

"(The authorities) should check whether hundreds of millions are there (in the account).

"Where is the evidence that I received millions? (These are) all lies.

"I didn’t get a single sen in allocation (from the government),” Muhyiddin was quoted saying by NST.

On Friday, Puad had in a Facebook post claimed that Muhyiddin had purportedly received hundreds of millions in ringgit from the prime minister’s allocation when he was NRC chairman, and questioned what those alleged funds were spent on and urged Muhyiddin to explain.