In hindsight, Najib frowns on 1MDB business model

After nearly a decade of troubles surrounding 1MDB, caretaker prime minister Najib Abdul Razak has said that in hindsight, he would have made some changes to the company.

"I would have probably not had that kind of business model, probably I would make sure (that there is) tighter supervision," he told US-based media outlet Bloomberg in an interview.

"But we all learn from our mistakes."

Indeed, 1MDB has been an expensive mistake for Malaysia. Conceived in 2009 soon after Najib came to power, the company quickly racked up RM42 billion in loans.

By 2015, the company was struggling to pay back its creditors and many of its assets had to be hastily sold off as part of what Putrajaya termed a "rationalisation exercise".

However, the main grouse with 1MDB was allegations that its funds were subject to gross abuse, in particular allegations documented by the US Department of Justice.

Among others, the DOJ accused an unnamed top-ranking official, simply identified as 'Malaysian Official 1', of receiving US$731 million in funds allegedly misappropriated from 1MDB.

Although the DOJ has been seizing 1MDB-linked assets across the world, and punitive action taken against banks or bankers linked to 1MDB funds in Singapore and Switzerland, no one has been charged with any offences in Malaysia.

In mid-2015, Najib sacked attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail, who was part of a widelypublished special task force investigating 1MDB.

Gani's replacement, Mohamed Apandi Ali, clearedNajib of any wrongdoing involving 1MDB, and police investigations into 1MDB have come to naught.

Najib conceded to Bloomberg that 1MDB had experienced issues with governance, but "you cannot just accuse somebody of being a thief or anything unless there is evidence."

"It's been cleared, there's been no wrongdoing – I stand by it," said Najib, while acknowledging that the 1MDB affair had caused "some reputational damage" both to Malaysia and his own government. - Mkini