‘NO OTHER CEO IN MALAYSIA HAS HAD TO DO WHAT I DID’ – NAJIB’S 1MDB LIEUTENANT ARUL KANDA GIVES HIMSELF A PAT ON THE BACK

1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) Chief Executive Officer Arul Kanda Kandasamy needs no introduction as his name has been so synonymous with the firm that has been embroiled in controversy.

Though in the eye of the storm, the Royal Military College (RMC) alumnus has been calm as a millpond in taking the bullet. He has not only conducted roadshows across the country for the past six weeks to explain issues related to 1MDB, but has gone live yesterday (April 18) with his own website www.arulkanda.com as well to spread the message.

In an exclusive interview with Malaysian Digest, Arul shared how the audiences’ requests during the ongoing roadshows had prompted him to get his own domain.

“Many asked if we could make key parts of the speeches accessible, as they either wanted to hear it again or share it with others. My objective is for this site to become a repository of information on key issues relating to 1MDB, and the target audience is anyone who wishes to find out the facts about 1MDB,” he conveyed.

And so far, Arul shared that the response has been “fantastic”.

“As we speak, it has been 18 hours since the website went live. In that time, I have received hundreds of messages and phone calls from those who appreciate this important resource being made easily accessible. All the feedback has been positive and I believe the good responses will continue to grow.”

For now, the website has a string of past articles and videos revolving 1MDB, though Arul foresees the site will evolve over time with content put forth by various contributors and himself – while not ruling out penning his own thoughts in it as well.

“If I can squeeze some time out of my busy schedule, I may consider expressing my thoughts and occasionally responding to current issues,” he said.

When asked if he believes he would be able to achieve all his objectives through this website, Arul replied without any hint of hesitancy, “Absolutely! As you would have seen by now, I do not do things in half measures.”

While some naysayers (especially members of the Opposition pact) may deem the timing of the website launch too coincidental in the midst of the 14th General Election (GE14) fever, and possibly believe that it is aimed to gain political mileage, Arul says the Opposition only have themselves to blame for recycling 1MDB issues.

“If there is any coincidence with the GE14 timing, then blame the Opposition, as they restarted and recycled the attacks for political mileage. There is definitely no political mileage for me in setting up this site, as the last time I checked, I am a corporate CEO, not a politician.

“As a company, it is our responsibility to provide the company’s point of view on these attacks,” declared Arul, who has helmed the firm since 2015.

But such criticisms and attacks are nothing new to the man who has had to bear the brunt of it all for the past three years – which he regards as “unfortunate”.

“However it is important to remember that I only joined 1MDB in January 2015, that is, after the cash flow and governance problems arose in the company and long after the so-called wrongdoings were alleged to have occurred,” he reminded and expressed how helming the firm has changed his life.

And while he puts up a tough front, as everyone can guess, it is not easy having your name associated with a scorned brand. But instead of taking the easy way out, Arul tends to find the positive in every situation – which makes him an even more respectable being.

“I have to admit, the job has been tougher than expected, but at the same time, I have learnt and experienced a lot,” he confessed.

“I believe no other corporate CEO in Malaysia has had to juggle and struggle with what I have had to do – taking over and successfully restructuring a company, dealing with Government, fending off Opposition politicians, assisting in multiple investigations, being accessible to the media and on top of all that, going on lectures around the country.”

As there is so much a man can take, when the dust settles, hopefully soon enough for the father-of-two, he hopes to be remembered by Malaysians “as a patriotic Malaysian, who had the capability and felt the responsibility, to step up, take on and to successfully complete one of the most difficult tasks in corporate Malaysia.”

http://malaysiandigest.com/frontpage/29-4-tile/733964-exclusive-arul-kanda-talks-about-his-website-going-live-and-life-after-1mdb.html

-mD