Utusan Malaysia today claimed that the cost to rent the executive jet which fetched PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and other Pakatan Rakyat leaders to Labuan early this month, was RM96,000.

Quoting sources, the Malay daily reported that the amount covered all charges including payment to pilots, engineers and other services provided by Tjets Sdn Bhd.

It claimed that the rental of the executive jet was arranged by an individual from Sarawak.

Tjets chairperson Mohd Taufik Omar explained to the daily that he is not Anwar’s friend and the rental service was done professionally.

NONE “Only until the jet was about to depart did I know that Anwar and his friends were among the passengers. I’m a businessman and I manage the booking professionally. I don’t check who the passengers are when a booking is made,” he was quoted as saying.

Taufik stressed that it is unfair to link him with Anwar just based on the matter.

“I’m making a living and this is one of my business fields. Should I be guilty just because Anwar was one of the passengers in the jet managed by my company?

NONE “I really hope that this explanation can clarify what really happened,” he added.

Taufik also told another Malay daily, Sinar Harian , that the fuel charges for the return flight to Labuan amounted to RM31,000.

However, he declined to reveal other charges.

“This is a private jet. When we say it is a private jet, that means there are things that are not appropriate and necessary to be disclosed to the public,” he said.

No money paid for private jet, insists PKR