The statement followed a tweet by Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz, with graphics representing the list of ministries for which the projects were approved and the total cost, as well as the details of the individual projects.

The statement also reiterated the criteria under which direct negotiated contracts can be approved by the government.

These include that the contract is with a Bumiputera company that meets all requirements, or that it is of a strategic importance to the country based on national security considerations.

The top five ministries with the highest value in terms of direct negotiation contracts were transport (four projects worth RM4.47 billion), defence (six projects, RM900.6 million), home affairs (eight projects, RM517.8 million), communications and multimedia (12 projects, RM380.12 million), and housing and local government (two projects, RM170.79 million).

The other ministries had direct negotiation projects that were in total below the RM100 million mark.