KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 — Former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s political aide Datuk Marzuki Mohamad said that the renovation and repair works done at the Seri Perdana Complex in Putrajaya were necessary.
He stressed that it was not a waste of money as claimed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Marzuki said that he had been involved in the renovation process directly following his capacity as the chief private secretary for Muhyiddin back then.
“The Seri Perdana has two wings. The first is the private residence and the second is the protocol wing for official events. The private residence wing is equipped with all the facilities a residence should have and the size of it is about 56,000 square feet.
“The main problem of Seri Perdana is leaks which have damaged the roof, ceiling, walls, and floorings. I was told that the kitchen was not functioning and there were wiring issues,” he said in a statement.
Marzuki also pointed out that no other prime minister had stayed in Seri Perdana since the days of former minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak due to its poor condition, issues of inventory management, and due to changes in the original state of the building.
“Some of the items in the residence were said to be owned personally by Najib. However, the matter was solved by the Prime Minister’s Department after a series of arguments.
“Due to this situation, the residence is not suitable to be occupied. I was told even Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad refused to stay there,” he added.
Marzuki said this led to the renovation of the residence as abandoning it further will only cause more damage.
“Muhyiddin also advised the country’s chief secretariat and prime minister department’s senior deputy secretary that there should be a complete list of inventory on the residence items and there should be an Act where the original state of Seri Perdana must be preserved,” he said.
Marzuki also said the current prime minister could host many official events and celebration at Seri Perdana now due to the renovation done by the former prime minister Muhyiddin.
Yesterday, Anwar claimed that Muhyiddin had prioritised the wrong things when he was the Prime Minister among which is upgrading the Seri Perdana, although it was already in good condition.
Anwar said RM38 million was spent on the upgrade, which could have been used to help the less fortunate.
