Get ready to say sorry when I release evidence on Felda debt, Anwar tells Muhyiddin after demand letter

July 20, 2023

Get ready to say sorry when I release evidence on Felda debt, Anwar tells Muhyiddin after demand letter

TANJONG KARANG, July 19 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today said he accepted Tan Sri Muhyyiddin Yassin’s challenge to show proof that he signed a debt waiver scheme for Felda settlers.

Anwar said he will show the signed letter to Muhyiddin in less than 12-hour from now, and that the former prime minister must be ready to apologise to him instead.

“I don’t need to apologise. I signed the letter. It was on June 27. Before I fly to Vietnam tomorrow, I will ask the chief secretary of the treasury to release the letter as a proof.

“But, I demand an apology from him when I release it. Don’t simply accuse me,” he told reporters after attending the Maal Hijrah celebration here in Kampung Raja Musa.

Earlier, Muhyiddin had sent a letter of demand to Anwar seeking an apology and retraction for claiming the former did not implement a debt waiver scheme for Felda settlers.

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The letter of demand dated yesterday gave Anwar 24 hours from time of receipt to comply, failing which Muhyiddin’s lawyers would begin a defamation lawsuit against the prime minister.

On July 7, Anwar announced a restructuring programme that would wipe off most of the RM8.3 billion in debt amassed by Felda settlers, saying Muhyiddin had failed to execute this when he had still been the PM.

The next day, Muhyiddin insisted he had been responsible for executing this decision in 2021, accusing Anwar of lying to claim credit.

Anwar responded by saying Muhyiddin’s administration had only agreed to the debt waiver, but never followed through with it, which was why he could still do it now in 2023.

Among other things, Anwar said the funds for the programme were only been allocated in the Budget 2023 that he tabled in February, and nowhere to be seen in either Budget 2021 or 2022.

In the letter of demand, Muhyiddin’s lawyers claimed Anwar’s announcement and rebuttal were defamatory as they suggested that the former had lied about absolving the settlers’ debt, was untrustworthy and corrupt, had misappropriated funds for the scheme, and was ineffectual during his time as prime minister, among others.

The lawyers further claimed Anwar’s remarks about the matter were baseless, false, dishonest, and misleading.

Aside from an open apology and retraction, Muhyiddin is also demanding that Anwar refrain from repeating the allegedly defamatory remarks and pay an undisclosed sum in damages.