Najib Says 1MDB Will Leave A Lasting "Legacy"
"In the years to come they (1MDB's Tun Razak Exhange and Bandar Malaysia) will be the real legacy of 1MDB. They will be what is remembered."
By Nandini Balakrishnan — 12 Apr 2016, 04:20 PM
Despite a colossal amount of flak and international graft probes against 1MDB, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has opined that the state investment firm will leave a lasting "legacy"
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak insisted today that 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) will leave a lasting "legacy" despite the "shameful" criticism levelled at the state investment firm.
He added with the creation of two "vibrant new centres", namely the Tun Razak Exchange and Bandar Malaysia, 1MDB’s rationalisation process, and the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) report disproved the allegations against the firm and his administration.
themalaymailonline.com
"... And history will show that the shameful, politically-motivated allegations made to unseat a democratically-elected government were false," added Najib during his opening speech at the Invest Malaysia forum today, 12 April.
Former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, has spent the past year championing against PM Najib Razak, following his alleged involvement in the financial scandals.
Image via The Malay Mail OnlinePM Najib also reiterated that 1MDB’s assets exceeded its liabilities and the state-owned company’s debts have also been cleared through its Cabinet-approved debt reduction plan.
According to the Malaysian premier, the state-fund has already cleared a major sum of its debts, referring to the recent repayment of RM950 million standby credit through the government's debt reduction plan
On 7 April, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) released the much- awaited report on 1MDB, detailing how it had in many ways it had violated principles of corporate governance.
One of the most worrying revelation of the report came in the form of the fact that the investment fund's debt has been raised from RM42 billion in March 24 to RM50 billion in January 2016.
Last June, the prime minister had made a promise to UMNO divisions that he would work on solving the growing 1MDB problems by the end of 2015, during a closed- door briefing, as reported by news portal, Malaysiakini.
Just a day after the report was made available to the public, DAP's Tony Pua alleged that about USD5.5 billion is still missing from 1MDB's accounts.
Having agreed that 1MDB has its "weaknesses", PM Najib pledged to hold the culprits responsible for any wrongdoings that led to the investment fund's scandals and troubles
However, he stressed that the country's good name has been "unfairly dragged through the mud", referring to the news reports on the financial scandals that have been circulating for the past year.
The Wall Street Journal is one the most popular news site that has been actively covering the topic and publishing exposes on the 1MDB scandals.
Despite the Malaysian government's assurance that 1MDB is a resolved matter, the state-fund is still being investigated by major international justice systems, including the FBI and the Swiss authorities
