KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 ― Lim Kit Siang demanded today that Datuk Ahmad Maslan apologise for his “false claim” on how much Putrajaya has forked out for flood relief work so far, pointing out that the deputy finance minister’s figures were a clear exaggeration of the actual sum spent.

Citing Malay Mail Online’s exclusive interview with National Security Council (NSC) secretary Datuk Mohamed Thajudeen Abdul Wahab published yesterday, Lim noted that instead of the RM800 million that Ahmad claimed had been spent, the government had only allocated a sum of RM500 million for flood relief.

“Where did Maslan’s RM800 million come from?” the DAP veteran asked in a statement here.

He pointed out that in the same interview, it also appeared clear that Putrajaya had not spent even RM100 million on the flood victims, with Thajudeen only mentioning that RM41 million has been approved for the 82,000 families of those who stayed at evacuation centers.

According to the NSC official, each family will receive RM500.

Thajudeen also said that families of flood victims who did not go to relief centres, either because they were marooned at home or because they had stayed with friends or relatives, would each receive RM500 as well.

“How are the balance of RM459 million to be spent?” Lim asked.

“(Ahmad) Maslan,” he added, “should apologise for the false claim on January 5 that the Federal Government had spent RM800 million to help flood victims when only RM41 million had been spent up to now!”

Ahmad was reported saying on January 5 that Putrajaya has already spent RM800 million on victims of the recent flood.

He also reportedly said that the federal government, through the NSC, spent the higher amount on food, logistics and house-cleaning for the victims of the floods that inundated the east coast last month.

After Ahmad’s claim, Lim issued a statement to question the sum, noting that from his observations during visits to flood-stricken Kelantan, it had not appeared as if the funds had been properly spent.

He also demanded a breakdown of the funds, saying that because Kelantan was the worst-hit, the east coast state should receive the bulk of the allocation.

“There should be strict audit of the so-called RM800 million already spent to help flood victims, and the other expenditures still to be made, to ensure that there is no hanky-panky whatsoever.

“No money should be spared to help the flood victims, but not a sen should be wasted.

“All government expenditures spent in the floods catastrophe must directly benefit the flood victims and not the ‘floods’ barons, entrepreneurs or cronies,” he reportedly said.