BOMBSHELL – NAJIB’S 1MDB DEBT MORE THAN DOUBLE WHAT INITIALLY THOUGHT, SAYS LATEST FILINGS: YET EX-PM INSISTS DR M & CO MUST HAVE KNOWN STATE OF NATION’S FINANCES – WRONG NAJIB, EVERYONE KNEW YOUR REGIME STOLE BUT NO ONE EXPECTED THE PLUNDER TO BE SO GARGANTUAN

A STATEMENT by Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) to the London Stock Exchange listing liabilities and financial commitments owed to the company by troubled 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) appear to show the sum to be more than double what Putrajaya was aware of, said The Straits Times.

IPIC had announced a plan on October 1 to transfer roughly US$6.89 billion (RM28.62 billion) worth of commitments to its parent entity, Mubadala Development Company PJSC.

The commitments listed were not only more than double the sum Putrajaya was aware is owed to Abu Dhabi, but bonds listed in the IPIC statement to the London bourse bore no relation to what the Malaysian government insisted were issued back in 2012, said the report.

IPIC listed the financial obligations under its deal with 1MDB as involving six separate bond issues in US dollars, euros and pound sterling. The six were in varying amounts compared with just the two known to have been issued originally.

The notes also carried different maturity dates, including one that stretches up to 2041, and varying annual coupon charges.

A government source told The Straits Times that the Malaysian Attorney-General’s Chambers and Finance Ministry were aware of the new development and that the government had engaged lawyers in the United Kingdom to find out how best to proceed.

“We will very likely make the interest payment under protest. The settlement agreement with Abu Dhabi will be challenged,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

The US$50.3 million interest charge to Abu Dhabi, which is due next week, will be the first financial commitment Pakatan Harapan must honour over the 1MDB scandal since wresting power in the 14th general election.

Harapan aware of M’sia’s finances before making promises, Najib says

Pakatan Harapan must have been aware of the state of the nation’s finances before it made election promises that it could not keep, Najib Abdul Razak said today.

The former prime minister said the country’s budget and financial statements are made public annually, and MPs would receive copies of the statements made available on government websites.

“Funny. The ones who went all over Malaysia saying that the country is in critical condition and is about to go bankrupt, that’s them.

“The ones who claimed that the government could abolish tolls, reduce fuel prices and all sorts of things, that’s them.

“Now there are statements saying that when Pakatan Harapan was drafting its manifesto, they thought the country’s finances would be enough to abolish tolls… They knew. Moreover, many of their leaders are former BN leaders in government.

“So which lie do they want to tell now? If the country was going bankrupt, why would they think of abolishing tolls?” he said in a Facebook post last night.

Pakatan Harapan had pledged in its election manifesto to abolish highway tolls in stages.

However, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was reported as saying last Friday that he did not think that this was achievable.

“We made the manifesto thinking we would not be the government. Now we are the government and this manifesto is a big burden.

“But, at that time, I was against it lah. I know, to have a freeway… you cannot. The only way to have freeways and no toll is to raise the price of petrol,” he said.

PKR’s representative on the manifesto drafting team, Sim Tze Sin, had told Malaysiakini that some pledges, such as the abolishment of tolls, had been drafted without full knowledge of the country’s finances or toll concessions.

More promises

In a separate Facebook post today, Najib posted a list of election promises that had been purportedly circulated prior to the election, including by Johor Bersatu’s Facebook account on Feb 6.

The list of 45 items includes pledges not contained in Harapan’s manifesto, such as abolishing the Automatic Enforcement System (AES) and providing free healthcare.

“I noticed that apart from promises pledged officially through a manifesto, various other promises were also made through social media and public speeches.

“This tactic is effective because Pakatan Harapan knew most Malaysians would believe information on social media and would not read or refer to their thick official manifesto.

“Guess how many promises on this list have been fulfilled? How many have they clearly ‘U-turned’ on?” he asked.

THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT / MKINI