KUALA LUMPUR: Putrajaya spent US$8 million (RM28.5 million) to upgrade a recently purchased private jet for the use of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his family, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) said yesterday.

PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli said the sum was one of the conditions of the sale agreement between Jet Premiere One (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (JPO) and Air Luther AG.

“The US$8 million was included in the sale price which was the base of the hire purchase price of RM465 million that was borne by the Malaysian government,” he said in a press conference at the Parliament lobby.

“Before this, Umno leaders justified the purchase of the jet for the sake of the PM’s safety, but why was there a need to spend RM28 million of the people’s money to upgrade the cabin to become more lavish than it already is?”

The Pandan MP said the RM28 million could have been put to better use, such as building new homes for some 800 people in Kelantan affected by the December floods.

Rafizi distributed pictures of the private jet’s yet-to-be upgraded cabin, which, he observed, was lavish “beyond the imagination of Malaysians”.

DAP national organising secretary Anthony Loke, who was also present at the press conference, said the prime minister had kept silent over these allegations for far too long.

PKR director of strategy Sim Tze Tzin, who is Bayan Baru Member of Parliament (MP), criticised Baling MP Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, who defended the purchase of the private jet and claimed that it would also be used by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Last week, PKR revealed that Putrajaya had ordered a new private aircraft for Najib’s use, which was later confirmed by the Prime Minister’s Office, which said the Airbus corporate jetliner was purchased to replace the 16-year-old Boeing business jet. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on March 24, 2015.