Arul Kanda says investment fund became 'extremely controvesial' after former premier's criticisms
KUALA LUMPUR: Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his remarks about RM42 billion going missing was what made government investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd “extremely controversial” and hot news, according to the company’s president, Arul Kanda Kandasamy.
He said some of the issues surrounding the company’s investments and financial affairs had been raised by the DAP’s Tony Pua and reported by The Edge business daily, but public interest was only aroused when Dr Mahathir said that RM42 billion had gone missing from the company.
“The biggest issue was when Tun Mahathir started his allegations… When Tun Mahathir and those who were previously aligned to the government started their criticism, that’s when the matter became extremely controversial,” Arul said at a press conference today, where he announced he would face Tony Pua live on television.
Arul said 1MDB’s problems with public perception had begun in Dember when 1MDB posted losses amounting to RM665 million, despite having raised “hundreds of millions” in profit in previous years, and its difficulty in repaying a RM2 billion loan to local banks.
Further controversy came from Sarawak Report’s articles, which he said were based on “inaccurate and selective” information, and later picked up by The Edge.
He said the government’s investigations into 1MDB would eventually absolve the company. “Despite the answers we have given, people don’t believe us. Because bad news sells better than good news – that is the reality.”
Arul said 1MDB had problems in settling its loans because of criticism, mainly from opposition politicians, had stymied its planned public listing of an energy subsidiary, Edra. The company has since decided to sell Edra as part of its programme to reduce its debts.
He said the problem of the RM2 billion loan repayment “got the attention of the business community”, and the company’s problems were compounded with Mahathir’s criticisms. “And then of course there were the leaks from Sarawak Report.” He said the web site had posted informaton from supposedly leaked documents in a very selective basis to create a certain story.
Sarawak Report and its editor Clare Rewcastle; the owner of the Edge, Tong Kooi Ong, and its publisher Ho Kay Tat; and Tony Pua have been implicated by Xavier Justo, a Swiss national and former executive of PetroSaudi International, who said he had tried to sell company documents and emails which he had stolen from PSI, a joint venture partner with 1MDB.
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