Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi revealed that the government forks out RM6 million a year for rental and maintenance works for his official residence, Seri Perdana, in Putrajaya.

abdullah ahmad badawi pak lah parliament pc 101208 05 According to a parliamentary written reply, RM4,149,000 is paid as rental to Putrajaya Holdings while the remaining RM1,896,616 is spent for maintenance works.

The premier was responding to Liew Chin Tong (DAP-Bukit Bendera) and. The reply, dated Dec 4, was only distributed to the media today.

The government is also paying RM3.4 million (RM2,273,888 for rental and RM1,129,992 for maintenance) for Seri Satria, the deputy premier’s official residence.

The reply stated that rentals is paid on a quarterly basis to Putrajaya Holdings, which is the master developer of the federal administrative capital.

According to its official website, the shareholders in the holdings include Petronas via KLCC (Holdings) Sdn Bhd (64.41 percent), CIMB Group Nominees (Tempatan) Sdn Bhd (for and on behalf of Kumpulan Wang Amanah Negara, 20 percent) and Khazanah Nasional Berhad (15.59 percent).

Sprawling complex

The Seri Perdana complex, located in Precinct 10 became the official residence of the prime minister during the tenure of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who moved in 1999.

seri perdana official pm residence big 231105 The sprawling complex covers an area of 16 hectares and comprises three blocks for a main reception area, banquet facilities block and the residential area.

The high cost spent in building, renovating and maintaining the complex has always been a focal point for the opposition.

According to figures revealed in the House in 2005, the building of Seri Perdana cost RM24.17 million, with maintenance costing up to RM2.9 million a year. An additional RM15.81 million was spent for renovations in that year as well.

It has also been alleged previously that the building actually cost about RM200 million to build.

In 2006, an opposition MP revealed that a whopping RM20 million was allegedly spent for the security system in the premier’s official residence.