PARLIAMENT | A BN lawmaker has questioned if there are any possible strings attached to Japan's guarantee of the RM7.3 billion Samurai bond issued to Malaysia earlier this month.
Debating the royal decree at Dewan Rakyat today, Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (BN-Pasir Salak) raised this concern, claiming that Japan is not a country known for its generosity.
"Japan has become the choice of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, whereas we know that it is not a generous country that would (provide us with guaranteed bond) without any conditions, or give loans without expecting anything in return.
"There is a motive behind the Samurai loan promised by the Japanese. We have heard about the projects that the Japanese are interested in, and they are lobbying to secure these projects.
"We have to understand that Japan is not the only source that backs our country," he said.
Pakatan Harapan had sought financial assistance from the Japanese government to repay 1MDB loans and other debts.
The bond was guaranteed by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) with a maturity tenure of 10 years, with a full cost to the government at 0.63 percent per annum.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said yesterday that Malaysia is willing to consider the issuance of another Samurai bond if it could obtain similar rates.
Mahathir had previously stressed that there are no strings attached to the Samurai bond.
[More to follow] - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.