NAJIB AVOIDS MENTIONING HIS SON A PARTNER IN DELOITTE: Himself massaging the truth, Najib claims Dr M twisting 1MDB facts

KUALA LUMPUR - Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s allegations against 1 Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) have no grounding in reality, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today.

In the second edition of the blog’s frequently asked questions (FAQ) section, Najib admitted that the state-owned fund is “facing challenges”, but not at the level alleged by the former prime minister.

“Indeed, some of the allegations that have been made have no grounding in reality, for instance Tun’s claim that I am responsible for a loss of RM42 billion on 1MDB’s balance sheet,” Najib wrote in the newly-released response, referring to Dr Mahathir.

“This appears to be a deliberate twisting of the facts as 1MDB has not made a loss of this amount,” he added.

Najib explained that the RM42 billion was the amount of its total debt, which is “far exceeded” by its RM51 billion assets as audited and confirmed by the firm Deloitte.

Dr M and PM Najib

“Most large companies around the world have high levels of debt, there is nothing unusual about this,” Najib added.

Najib also refuted Dr Mahathir’s claim that he has not answered questions surrounding 1MDB, pointing to his instruction for the Auditor-General (A-G) to audit the fund and have the results presented to the bipartisan Public Accounts Committee.

“This should ensure that the process is transparent, and all questions that have been asked of the company are independently answered by legitimate bodies rather than politically motivated sources,” said Najib.

On May 18, Dr Mahathir had accused Najib of trying to stall on matters involving the strategic investment firm until the preliminary report by the A-G is released next month.

PM Najib

“Where did the RM42 billion go? Where did the balance go, since what was spent on did not reach RM42 billion? The public has a right to ask,” Dr Mahathir added later, referring to 1MDB’s reported debt pile.

Most recently, the fund was pilloried after the finance ministry — which Najib also heads — declared that the US$1.103 billion (RM3.91 billion) that 1MDB redeemed from its offshore account in the Cayman Islands into a Singaporean bank is not in actual cash but assets.

This added to public anger over an expose on RM188.5 million paid to 1MDB by pilgrimage fund Lembaga Tabung Haji for a 1.5-acre plot of land in the Tun Razak Exchange, and also some RM3 billion invested by the Employees Provident Fund and Retirement Fund Inc in the controversial fund. - Malay Mail