NRC was an advisory body and did not receive allocations, says Muhyiddin

PAGOH: Umno supreme council member Datuk Dr Puad Zarkashi should do his research first before coming out with any foolish statements, says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

The Perikatan Nasional chairman said that the National Recovery Council (NRC) was just an advisory body and had no executive power to receive any allocation from the government.

"First, I would like to inform you that I had resigned my post as the NRC chairman before the 15th General Election, and during my tenure, I conducted my duties pro bono, without taking a single cent," he said.

The former premier said this when met by reporters after attending the Majlis Kesyukuran Bersama Ahli Parlimen Pagoh at the Pagoh Sports Complex, here, on Saturday (Dec 17).

Muhyiddin said this when asked to comment on Puad's statement saying that NRC had received hundreds of millions of ringgit worth of allocations under the prime minister's fund.

The Bersatu president added that it was up to the government whether to implement any suggestion made by the NRC.

"Based on our calculations, all of the 95 suggestions that we have proposed have been approved by the Cabinet, and any expenditure was on the government side.

"If the government were to spend, they would have to get allocations from the ministries.

“This is not the first time he (Puad) has made such accusations, and it seems that he could not learn anything due to his 'ill intention'," he added.

Earlier, Puad, through a statement posted on his Facebook page, had questioned where all of the alleged allocations given to the NRC went, and urged Muhyiddin to come forward and explain.