PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is pictured at PKR's headquarters in Petaling Jaya March 1, 2020. — Picture by Miera Zulyana

KUALA LUMPUR, March 5 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has demanded Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin seek an explanation from former Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor on how he managed to gather so much wealth after he revealed that he declared over RM900 million in assets throughout his political career during a bribery trial yesterday.

The PKR president said an explanation regarding the matter is necessary since Muhyiddin has vowed to clean up the government from corruption.

“Today, we are shocked to discover an extraordinary wealth of an Umno leader at the Kuala Lumpur court. It was stated that this richness was over RM800 million.

“And before this Tan Sri Jamaluddin Jarjis (former Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation) was also discovered to have billions in assets.

“These are so-called Malay leaders, who won (the election) based on the slogan that they defend the plight of the Malays, and many of the rakyat believed in this,” said Anwar in a video posted on his Facebook account earlier this morning.

He reiterated in the video that Muhyiddin must find out where and how Tengku Adnan, popularly known as Ku Nan, managed to accumulate such wealth.

He added that the origins of Tengku Adnan’s wealth must be made known, and only this way the latter can be recognised as a defender of Malay rights.

“An explanation is needed, as to where the wealth was taken from — which citizen inheritance he took this from, which state land, and which Bumiputera shares.

“Only this when this is clarified the leaders can be recognised as genuine defenders of the Malay rights,” said Anwar.

He said this was because these political leaders have promised people that they are true leaders of the Malays in the country.

“But the reality is, if a leader is truly sincere, it is impossible that he has accumulated such wealth.

“Because their responsibility would have been to prioritise the plight of the Felda settlers, fishermen, farmers, smallholders, civil servants and factory workers who are burdened with lives sufferings.

“So I urge the rakyat to open their eyes and minds, and to demand for the new prime minister to offer a fair explanation (to this) and not just focus on power struggle, and not upholding the people’s mandate,” he added.

Ku Nan, testifying in his own defence in his bribery trial yesterday, also confirmed that he had declared to the prime minister in 2001 that he had total assets valued at RM938,643,566.16 or over RM938 million, and that he had made similar asset declarations in 2006 of his total assets being worth RM711,325,822 or over RM711 million, and in 2013 at RM691,770,649 or over RM691 million, and finally at RM782,748,061 or over RM782 million in 2016.