PERIKATAN Nasional chairman Muhyiddin Yassin has instructed his lawyers to proceed with his suit against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim for defaming him in the Felda debts matter.

Muhyiddin, a former prime minister, said this was after documents released by Anwar yesterday vindicated him from claims he did not approve the waiver of Felda settlers’ debts.

He said documents released were related to the issuance of sukuk linked to a cabinet decision in 2020 to write off the debts of Felda settlers,  not the debt waiver itself.

“I have also explained many times before that the document Anwar signed was about sukuk and not about writing off Felda settlers’ debts. The disclosure proved I was telling the truth. The one who lied and slandered me was Anwar,” the Bersatu president said in a statement.

On July 18, Muhyiddin gave Anwar 24 hours to retract claims he had not fulfilled his promise to waive the settlers’ debts.

Following that Anwar yesterday revealed documents, which he said was proof he had approved the debt waiver plan.

This was immediately disputed by Muhyiddin’s former aide Marzuki Mohamad, who said the released documents were from an agreement on government-guaranteed sukuk issued in stages.

“The (released) document is not a waiver agreement for Felda settlers’ debts,” Marzuki said.

Muhyiddin said Anwar’s reference to the sukuk document as proof showed he did not understand what he had signed.

“This is dangerous. I don’t know what other documents or agreements he has signed in his capacity as prime minister and finance minister without understanding or knowing about their contents.

“Clearly, Anwar is not qualified (incompetent) to remain as prime minister. The longer Malaysia is governed by the Madani administration of Anwar Ibrahim, the greater the harm to the people,” said Muhyiddin, using a term mocking Anwar’s Madani slogan.

In 2020, Muhyiddin initiated a plan to write off the debts of Felda settlers, which the cabinet subsequently approved in October 2020.

This included the issuance of a RM9.9 billion sukuk with a government guarantee to finance Felda’s restructuring plans.

However, in February, Putrajaya said it was unable to continue Muhyiddin’s plan to waive the settlers’ loans, citing Felda’s cash flow constraints.

Earlier this month, Anwar claimed Muhyiddin had never executed the plan to write off the settlers’ loans and that it was he, as finance minister, who signed an allocation for RM8.3 billion in June.

He repeated the remarks on July 8, saying Muhyiddin was too busy “finding contracts for children”. – July 21, 2023.