Guan Eng shoots down Najib's claim of US$2 trillion China imports

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has refuted a claim from former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak that China had committed to importing goods worth US$2 trillion from Malaysia over the next five years.

Najib had said that the imports were promised when an MOU for two contentious multibillion ringgit pipeline projects was signed with the country.

According to Lim, however, his checks with treasury officials and the chief secretary to the government on these imports have turned up no evidence of this.

"Over the past few days, we have sought the assistance of the Treasury officials and the chief secretary to the government to determine the veracity of former prime minister’s claims.

"He claims that trillions of US dollars commitments made by China to Malaysia were linked to the signing of the two pipeline agreements worth RM9.4 billion.

"All officials asked have stated that these claims by Najib are untrue," he said in a statement today.

Lim added that there is also no mention of the various “commitments” made by China as in any of the cabinet papers presented in 2016 and 2017, during which the Suria Strategic Energy Resources Sdn Bhd (SSER) pipeline projects were approved.

"Unless, of course, there are certain hidden cabinet papers or ‘red’ cabinet minutes that no one has access to except the former prime minister himself," he said.

Besides the import of US$2 trillion of goods, Najib said that China had also promised to invest up to US$150 billion, and offer 10,000 places for training and studies in various institutes in the country as part of the MOU signed in 2017.

The former premier had made the claim when responding to Lim’s demand for an explanation of “suspicious transactions” in the two pipeline projects – the Multi-Product Pipeline (MPP) in Malacca, and Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline (TSGP), worth about RM9.4 billion in total.

Lim had revealed on June 5 that the federal government had paid SSER RM8.3 billion, or 88 percent of the project value, despite only 13 percent of work having been completed.

SSER was formed under the Finance Ministry specifically for the projects in 2016. In turn, it entered into an agreement with China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau (CPPB) to carry out the projects.

The company is currently under probe by the MACC, after Lim lodged a report against it.

It was reported today that SSER’s offices were raidedby the commission, and taken over by the Finance Ministry.

Its president, Mohammed Azhar Osman Khairuddin has also been removed as a director, and its staff placed on garden leave pending investigation.

Najib had insisted that all procedures in the awarding of the two projects were above board. -Mkini