Najib Has Spent RM376 Billion Of Petroleum Income Since He Came To Power In 2009
That's an average of RM54 billion of petroleum income per year.
By Nandini Balakrishnan — 14 Mar 2017, 11:57 AM
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has spent a total of RM376 billion of the country's petroleum income from the year 2009 till 2016
Pandan PKR MP Rafizi Ramli called Najib the "champion of champions", claiming that Najib spends an average of RM54 billion petroleum income per year.
He made the statement during a parliamentary session yesterday, as reported by Malaysiakini.
The figures provided by Rafizi was based on the data from the Malaysian Treasury Department, including oil royalties, petroleum dividends and revenue from the year 1970 till 2016.
The political daily also reported Rafizi clarifying that the numbers do not take into account inflation trends and currency adjustment.
The PKR MP said that PM Najib has spent the most from the country's petroleum income compared to his predecessors: a whopping RM376 billion
He listed down the list of Malaysian prime ministers - based on how much of the country's petroleum income they've spent during their tenure:
1. Tun Abdul Razak (2nd prime minister) spent RM1 billion - an average of RM175 million per year. He was in power for six years.
2. Tun Hussein Onn (3rd prime minister) spent RM8 billion - an average of RM1.65 billion. He was in power for 5 years.
3. Tun Dr Mahathir (4th prime minister) spent RM163 billion - an average of RM8 billion per year. He was in power for 22 years.
4. Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (5th prime minister) spent RM204 billion - an average of RM41 billion per year. He was in power for six years.
5. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak (6th prime minister) spent RM376 billion - an average of RM54 billion per year. PM Najib Razak came to power in 2009.
He also claimed that PM Najib has become the "champion" when it comes to financial scandals and became popularised as the person who has received the highest recorded amount of private donations in the world.
For comparison, the Petronas Twin Towers is said to have cost RM7.1 billion to build. With RM376 billion, you could build the Twin Towers 52 times.
It was reported that the oil price during Tun Razak to Mahathir's time (1970s - 2000s) was around USD20 to USD30 per barrel. It is currently at USD58 per barrel.
Responding to Rompin MP's query on the price of oil during each prime minister's time, Rafizi said that the oil price went up to USD120 per barrel and dropped to USD60 during Abdullah's time. The oil price dropped and has been fluctuating between USD30 to USD70 now, and is currently at USD58 per barrel.
"But the matter shouldn't be that when you get windfall you spend all of it. When you get windfall you should be saving for your grandchildren," added Rafizi.