KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has submitted his response over claims that he had misled Parliament over 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
It was confirmed by a Parliament officer that Najib submitted a written explanation to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun at about 10.30am on Tuesday (March 15).
On March 7, Azhar sought a written reply from Najib over his remarks on 1MDB during his debate on the royal address on March 2.
He was said to have misled Parliament when claiming that the government had yet to repay the 1MDB loans amounting to some RM38bil since 2018.
He also said that "not a single sen" of the rakyat's money would be used to repay the company's debts.
However, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz refuted Najib’s claims the following day.
The Finance Minister has since said that the government had so far repaid the company's loans and interest amounting to RM13.31bil from the 1MDB Assets Recovery Trust Fund, and that the rakyat's money was also used for the purpose.
The Finance Minister's rebuttal led to Tony Pua (PH-Damansara) submitting a motion to Azhar on March 3 to cite Najib to Parliament's Rights and Privileges Committee for misleading the House.
Azhar initially asked Najib to respond to Pua by Wednesday (March 9) but later granted an extension to do so by March 15 following a request by Najib for more time.
The claims made by Najib had resulted in heated exchanges in the House.
Azhar was also mocked by several Opposition MPs for granting Najib more time to respond to Pua's motion, as the issue had cropped up during campaigning in the recent Johor state polls which was held on Saturday (March 12). - Star
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