KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today he will not respond to celebrity chef Datuk Redzuawan Ismail’s remarks or threat to slap the former prime minister.
Redzuawan, better known as Chef Wan had said he wanted to slap Najib for claiming that Felda saw its “golden age” under the previous Barisan Nasional administration.
“Chef Wan? Why should I entertain him?” Najib told reporters after a casual meeting session with motorcycle enthusiasts at the Podium, here, today.
He also dismissed claims that the previous Barisan Nasional government had bribed Felda settlers when it was in power.
“That was not bribery. We were helping the Felda settlers because they were living in dire conditions.
“When it came to the Felda settlers, we did not differentiate based on which party they supported. They all benefitted the same. If there is no difference, then that is not bribery,” Najib said.
Najib cited the example of Felda settlers earning only RM74, last month in Sungai Koyan, Pahang to describe their living condition.
“Some even earn even lower than that. How are they to survive?” he said.
Earlier, Redzuawan had also expressed anger at Najib for placing Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad to helm Felda, despite the latter’s allegedly tainted past, and had also threatened to slap the latter.
Mohd Isa was charged in November last year, after investigations by the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) into an overpriced purchase by Felda, of a hotel in Sarawak.
He became Felda chairman in 2011 and stepped down in January 2017 after the agency suffered financial losses.
