Three-quarters of Tabung Harapan funds used for 1MDB debt - PSC report

PARLIAMENT | Almost three-quarters of the Tabung Harapan Malaysia's funds were used to pay off part of the 1MDB debt.

The Finance Ministry used RM143.75 million to pay off the 1MDB sukuk coupon on May 24 this year, as revealed in the report by the bi-partisan Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on government’s debts and liabilities.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had announced in February that the Tabung Harapan had collected RM202.72 million before it officially closed on Jan 14, 2019.

This was then put into fixed deposits managed by the National Accounting Department, generating RM575,342 in interest – bringing the total up to RM203.29 million.

Tabung Harapan was set up by the government on May 30, 2018, for Malaysians to contribute to efforts to reduce the country’s debt.

The fund was set up after many ordinary citizens expressed a desire to donate to help after the Pakatan Harapan government said the country’s debt was more than RM1 trillion.

The PSC’s report had also affirmed that the government’s debts and liabilities had passed the RM1 trillion mark.

Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin, who is a member of the PSC, later told reporters that 1MDB debts were not the main cause of the RM1 trillion figure.

“We always hear the accusation that the RM1 trillion was caused by 1MDB. The list (of debts and liabilities) is quite clear, 1MDB is only RM32.3 billion of net debts.

“I am not saying it is a small amount, but 1MDB is not the only contributor to the difference between debts and liabilities.

“To simplify, to say all this is due to 1MDB is not accurate. 1MDB is a contributing factor, we all agree on that, but the amount is only RM32.3 billion,” he said.

The PSC had said that apart from the direct debt of RM741 billion, off-budget financial obligations such as public-private partnership, PFI trust accounts, Pembinaan BLT Sdn Bhd and government guarantees must also be added into the debt calculation.

"This is because there is no difference (between these projects) and development projects directly financed by the government under the five-year Malaysia plans through borrowings from domestic or international lenders," read the PSC's report released today. - Mkini