KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 — PKR lawmaker Rafizi Ramli today claimed that Datuk Seri Najib Razak has spent over RM40 million on his new Airbus ACJ320 executive jet purchased six months ago.

The Pandan MP said the figure was derived from the prime minister’s past travel records and maintenance fees, and has clearly gone far beyond the annual RM46 million budget for the plane’s operations, excluding fuel and additional costs.

"I am estimating that the overall costs in handling the jet for the past six months, which the government is trying to hide, is RM 40.8 million for six months between April to September 2015," he said at a news conference at the Parliament lobby.

Rafizi said Putrajaya has routinely refused to answer his parliamentary questions on the cost of running the jet, which has made 42 trips so far since coming into full service in April, claiming that the federal government was afraid of public backlash.

"This is expected because he (Najib) knows it will infuriate the public, that is why he is not prepared to share the information," Rafizi alleged.

MORE TO COME