"Don’t mess with me," warned Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi following his dissatisfaction with the quality of the open hall building of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Hutan Melintang near Bagan Datuk.

He said the specifications of the hall did not commensurate with the RM600,000 allocated by the Prime Minister's Department.

"Do not insult the people of Bagan Datuk, do not disparage SMK Hutan Melintang, I'm not satisfied, I will never ever be satisfied, is this what you get for RM600,000?

"Although I sit on top (being deputy prime minister) my feet are firmly grounded on the soil of Bagan Datuk, I cannot accept this, the people of Bagan Datuk cannot accept.

"Who is the implementing agency? Don’t fool around, contractor! If it is RM600,000 it must be worth RM600,000, do not claim RM600,000 but the real value is like RM300,000," he said.

He said this when opening the hall and handing out early schooling assistance to the parents of the students of the school in Bagan Datuk today.

Zahid, who is also home minister and MP for Bagan Datuk, said he wanted the MACC to get to the bottom of the matter.

"Take action if there is misappropriation, regardless if it is the contractor, consultant or whoever is involved," he said.

"Just because we are kampung folks, don’t look down on us, even with the naked eyes we know. I do not want the people to say that members of Parliament take money, state assemblypersons take money, we will not compromise," he said.

He also gave the contractor three months to make changes to the structure of the hall.

"I am giving three months so that the empty spaces around the hall are closed, I want the cement floor to be tiled, the fans need to be bigger, I want the hall to be longer than this, do not mess with me.

"I will come again, no need for kompang (traditional drums) and red carpet welcome and there is no necessity for the students to line up. I will come unannounced and I want to see this hall better than it is now, "he added.

- Bernama