The Kelantan Menteri Besar’s Office has decried the suggestion it had used the federal government’s special allocation to purchase luxury cars as a “malicious slander”.

This came after Kelantan Pakatan Harapan chairperson Husam Musa (photo) questioned the source of funds for the purchase of a Mercedes S450 L AMG for use as the Menteri Besar Ahmad Yakob's (photo) official car, which is allegedly priced above RM600,000.

“For the record, the state government's decision to replace official cars for the state leadership was made through a statement by the deputy menteri besar as far back as Sept 12, 2018.

“The state government had decided to replace the official cars for the menteri besar and state exco members in stages, after evaluating the old vehicles that had been in use since 10 to 12 years ago,” the office said in a statement.

Earlier, Malaysiakini reported that the Kelantan government had purchased the vehicle with the license plate “DV 1”.

Husam had demanded to know the source of the funding after photos of the car had gone viral on social media platforms.

"Was it paid using petroleum royalty?" he asked, referring to the RM400 million from the federal government that was reportedly paid on Dec 25 last year.

Meanwhile, the Menteri Besar’s Office said the license plate DV 1 had been in use since the late menteri besar Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat’s administration.

It was a gift from the Sultan of Kelantan, the office said.

“And the state government has decided to replace the vehicle that was over 10 years old while maintaining the DV 1 license plate for the new car, which has been consented by His Majesty,” it added.