PUTRAJAYA, Oct 15 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today defended Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s RM600 million investment to restore Carcosa Seri Negara, calling it a “strategic investment” and not “an act of charity”.
When tabling Budget 2026 last Friday, Anwar, who is also the finance minister, announced that Khazanah would invest RM600 million in conservation works at Carcosa Seri Negara, along with six blocks within the Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad complex in Kuala Lumpur.
The announcement drew sharp criticism from Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, who described the allocation as “wasteful” and urged the government to privatise Carcosa Seri Negara to generate revenue instead.
However, Anwar stressed that the facelift for Carcosa Seri Negara was a matter of national pride.
“The RM600 million is not for the Carcosa building alone. It is also for the Seri Negara building and six building blocks within the Sultan Abdul Samad building complex.
“For me, the Carcosa Seri Negara, Dataran Merdeka, the Sultan Abdul Samad building complex, the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad station and Kompleks Dayabumi together form a heritage park in KL.
“Revitalising the area would attract investors to invest and develop the surrounding vicinity too.
“So, it is a strategic investment and not an act of charity,” Anwar said at the Finance Ministry’s monthly assembly here today.
Carcosa Seri Negara comprises two separate colonial mansions.
Constructed in 1896, Carcosa is the older building and once served as the official residence of then British Resident-General of the Federated Malay States, Sir Frank Swettenham.
Meanwhile, Seri Negara, formerly known as King’s House, was built in 1913 as an official guest house for visiting dignitaries, including Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, who stayed there in 1986.
Prior to independence, Seri Negara hosted discussions related to the drafting of the Constitution of Malaya between 1955 and 1957, culminating in the signing of the Merdeka Agreement by the nine Malay Rulers on August 5, 1957.
Carcosa Seri Negara was later presented as a goodwill gesture to the British government in 1957, before ownership was returned to Malaysia in 1987, reportedly via a land swap.
Recalling that period, Anwar spoke of leading student protests urging the government to reclaim the building.
“Carcosa is one of the most iconic buildings to be constructed on a hill in KL.
“I can’t accept to see the building remain as a colonial-era symbol. It should be restored into a symbol of Malaysian culture,” he added.
