PETALING JAYA: Chandeliers, among other items, were removed from Seri Perdana, the official prime minister's residence, claims Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

       The former prime minister said he did not live in Seri Perdana during his time as premier to allow renovation and repair works to be done.

       "The chandelier and other furniture there were said to be owned by the sixth prime minister (Datuk Seri Najib Razak). When I was the prime minister I said I did not care since that is his right.

       "So, I left it to the Prime Minister's Department to give approval for him to remove items from there," he said after a Perikatan Nasional meeting on Thursday (Sept 30).

       Muhyiddin added that he was unsure if there was any inventory of the items made as it was not his responsibility.

       On Facebook, Najib said he was not given much time to leave Seri Perdana.

       "After (Barisan Nasional) lost GE14, my family and I were only given a few hours to leave Seri Perdana because the seventh prime minister believed that there were a lot of secrets stored there.

       "In August 2018, I wrote a letter to the PM's Dept requesting approval to retrieve personal items, gifts, souvenirs, and furniture bought with my own money from Seri Perdana but my letter was not answered," he said, adding that he made a similar request in August 2019.

       In October 2020, Najib said PM's Dept responded and allowed him to retrieve the items listed, including furniture, but only if he could prove that he had purchased them and these were not government assets.

       Najib said the items were checked and approved by PM's Dept, noting that on Nov 18, PM's Dept sent him another letter to retrieve the items based on a finalised list.

       "I was given two weeks to complete the removal before Dec 3, 2020," he said, adding that they were asked to remove the items quickly as Muhyiddin had plans to renovate the place before moving in.

       "Don't use me as an excuse if you intended to spend RM38.5mil after telling the rakyat that the government did not have money.

       "Also, the old furniture PM's Dept instructed me to remove from Seri Perdana is still kept in a warehouse because I am still happy with the furniture in my house. It has not been used at all since.

       "If the government wants it, I agree to give it to the government for free. Just get in touch with my officer and come to the warehouse to choose," he said.

       It was reported that it cost RM38.5mil in total to renovate Seri Perdana, which has come under heavy criticism with many questioning the need to spend the money when the country's economy has been severely affected by the pandemic.