PETALING JAYA: The Kelantan government has denied that it used the special one-off RM400mil allocation from the Prime Minister to buy luxury cars for the Mentri Besar and his executive councillors.
The decision to change the fleet of official cars was made in 2018, well before the state was awarded the special allocation, the Mentri Besar's office said in a statement today.
"The wild allegations that have gone viral are ill-intended and defamatory."
The Mentri Besar's office pointed out that Deputy Mentri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah had announced on Sept 12, 2018, that they would be replacing the fleet of old official cars in stages, starting with the state secretary's car, because the existing cars were between 10 and 12 years old.
The statement was issued, after photograph of a Mercedes-Benz S-Class bearing the Mentri Besar's registration plate DV 1 went viral.
"Tuanku Al Sultan Kelantan had presented to the previous Mentri Besar, the late Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, the official car bearing the registration number DV 1.
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"The state government decided to replace the Mentri Besar's official car, as it is more than 10 years old. But the DV 1 registration number was retained upon seeking consent from Tuanku Al Sultan Kelantan," the statement read.
One report, quoting an unnamed state official, said Kelantan bought the black S 450 L AMG Line last year at over RM600,000. The retail price of the luxury car is nearly RM700,000.
The entry level S-Class was launched in Malaysia in August 2018 and is locally assembled. This refreshed sixth-generation model replaces the S 400 h hybrid and offers more power and torque as well as being faster than its predecessor.
The long wheebase S-Class gets a 3.0 litre bi-turbo V6 petrol mill that produces 362hp at 5,500-6,000 rpm and 500Nm from 1,800-4,000rpm. It sprints from 0-100kph in 5.4s, with top speed capped at 250kph.
A 9-speed automatic transmission relays power to the rear wheels of the W222 S-Class.
