KUALA TERENGGANU, Dec 27 — The purchase of new sports utility vehicles (SUVs) for the menteri besar and state executive councillors is a normal routine and not a violation of law or any regulations, said Terengganu state secretary Datuk Seri Tengku Farok Hussin Tengku Abdul Jalil.

He said the vehicle acquisition was planned earlier this year and the matter should not be an issue as it had gone through the proper procedure.

However, he said certain quarters have deliberately politicised the issue as it involved Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar and the state leadership.

"It is normal practice, when there is a change in government the vehicles will be replaced. When the four-wheel drive vehicles were purchased for the Forestry Department last year no one raised the issue. So why raise the matter now,” he said when met by reporters at the State Disaster Operations Room, here today.

Recently, a photograph showing several Mazda SUV vehicles allegedly purchased for the use of the menteri besar and the state exco members was widely shared on social media.

A Facebook user posted the photograph of the vehicles bearing Terengganu number plates. — Bernama