’Proof’: Najib Solely Responsible for 1MDB, says Pua

Opposition wants PM to explain his clearly demarcated role in the scandal-ridden 1MDB.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Opposition wants Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to immediately schedule an official Ministerial Statement in Parliament during the current sitting to give a full and complete explanation on “the mother of the mother of the mother of all scandals” in Malaysia, the 1MDB heist of the century.

“Najib should drop all pretence of ignorance and give up the farcical charade that 1MDB was a healthy and salvageable company because he was only acting to deny his own culpability and protect his own interest in the matter.”

Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua was commenting on the latest “exposé” by the alternative media which “confirmed” via documents available in the public domain that the entire responsibility for the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal “implicitly” lies with the Prime Minister.

He was referring to a special Clause 117 – inked on 27 February 2009 according to Malay Mail Online – in the Memorandum and Articles of Association (M&A) of the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA), 1MDB’s predecessor company, obtained by Malaysiakini and Malay Mail Online. “The special clause places absolute powers over the company’s decisions in the hands of the Prime Minister.”

Apparently, the reading is that the 1MDB Board of Directors was likewise merely a rubber stamp body for decisions made by Najib.

Hence, said Pua, Najib who was also Finance Minister “must in particular explain in full his involvement in the initial USD1 billion investment in Petrosaudi International Limited and the additional USD1 billion in loans extended to Petrosaudi”.

He must also explain, added Pua who is also DAP National Publicity Secretary, “his approval for the direct payment of more than USD1 billion to Good Star Limited, a company controlled by one Penangite, Jho Low”.

“He must also explain whether USD260 million was siphoned from 1MDB, as alleged, and used for the acquisition of the UBG Bhd banking group from the latter’s substantial shareholder, Sarawak Governor Taib Mahmud’s family vehicles,” said Pua.

In addition, continued the MP, Najib must also explain why 1MDB proceeded to raise bonds amounting to USD6.5 billion by paying fees in excess of 10 per cent to Goldman Sachs International, as well as why a costly guarantee was sought from Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC) for USD3.5 billion of these bonds.

Most importantly, warned Pua, he must disclose exactly where all the above 1MDB’s money was today. “All of the above have led to 1MDB’s horrendous predicament today where it has no money to repay its mountain of debt nor service its interest amounting to some RM2.5 billion annually,” lamented Pua.

Delving into the TIA documents exposed by the alternative media, Pua pointed out that the special Clause 117 dictates that the Prime Minister must give his “written approval” for any TIA deals, including the firm’s investments or any bid for restructuring.

Other salient points in the M&A:

The Prime Minister’s written approval includes “any financial commitment (including investment), restructuring or any other matter which was likely to affect the guarantee given by the Federal Government of Malaysia for the benefit of the company, national interest, national security or any policy of the Federal Government of Malaysia”.

Other matters which need the Prime Minister’s written approval are amendments to the company’s M&A as well as all appointments and removal of directors and senior management team of TIA.

Therefore, stressed Pua, the above exposé debunked all previous attempts by the Prime Minister to disassociate himself from the management and operations of 1MDB.

When the 1MDB scandal was first exposed by the UK-based Sunday Times and The Sarawak Report, he recalled, the former reported on 1 March 2015 that “the Malaysian Government said the Prime Minister was not involved in the day-to-day operations of 1MDB, which was run by a professional and experienced team”.

Previously, said Pua, even in Najib’s letter of demand sent to him on 21 November 2014 over his alleged defamatory statements with regards to 1MDB, his lawyers stated unequivocally that “contrary to your defamatory statements… our client being the chairman of the Board of Advisors of 1MDB only renders advice to the Board of Directors of 1MDB which is tasked on the management and operation of 1MDB.”

In fact, said Pua, “he was even more involved in the matter directly than we, the 1MDB’s harshest critics, had anticipated as his role was specifically cast in stone in the company’s M&A”.

With the confirmation on TIA, argued Pua, all the responsibility over the colossal RM42 billion of debt and billions of ringgit of losses and missing cash falls directly and entirely on the shoulders of the Prime Minister.

Earlier, on Tuesday, 1MDB’s President and Group Executive Director Arul Kanda said in a statement issued via Bernama that the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and the financial accounts of the company have always been available to the public via the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM).

“Any suggestion that these documents were leaked, or that the details contained within them have not been previously disclosed, are false and we regret that insinuations are being made to this effect,” said Arul Kanda in the statement. The statement was issued, he said, as a clarification to recent press reports concerning those documents.