PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has cautioned Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng for making factually incorrect statements about TRX City Sdn Bhd (TRXC).
The former premier said that the take-over of TRXC by Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc) for a nominal sum of RM1 effective March 31, 2017, was a key step in the broader 1MDB rationalisation plan.
TRXC is the owner of the 70-acre Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) and 486-acre Bandar Malaysia land and projects.
Najib said that after taking over the two prime assets, MOF Inc then assumed payment of certain 1MDB liabilities from April 1, 2017, in return for the asset transfer.
“YB Lim himself admits that even with a further 'up to' RM2.8bil injection by MOF Inc, the TRX project will be worth at least RM7.8bil and show a profit.
“Surely it cannot be called a bail-out if the money is to be used to generate a profit?” Najib said in a statement on Thursday (June 21).
He added that while Lim “conveniently” lumped together Federal Government commitments of RM3.7bil for both the TRX and Bandar Malaysia projects, he had failed to highlight the significant land asset value contained in both projects, and in particular, the Bandar Malaysia project.
“If properly planned, marketed and developed, the Bandar Malaysia land alone could be worth RM30bil,” he said.
Najib said that no monies from TRXC were misappropriated by 1MDB and as practised by many companies, approximately RM3bil of inter-company loans were made over time, by TRXC to 1MDB.
He said that all these inter-company loans were repaid by 1MDB effective March 31, 2017, through a combination of cash repayments and a set-off against dividends paid by TRXC to 1MDB.
“These repayments were carried out with the approval of MOF Inc and were properly reviewed and signed off by the auditors of TRXC in the March 31, 2017, financial statements.
“Since the TRXC was owned 100% by 1MDB which was in-turn, owned 100% by MOF, surely 1MDB cannot be stealing RM3bil from itself to service its own loan?” asked Najib.
He said Lim should not making factually incorrect statements as part of Pakatan Harapan’s political vengeance against him and the previous Barisan Nasional government.
“Not only is it unprofessional, it spooks investors in the currency, bond and stock markets. Surely the well being of our economy is much more important than the issuance of politically-motivated statements?” said Najib.
Lim had said that more than RM3bil of government funds were misappropriated from the TRX project to pay off 1MDB debts.- Star
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