KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak once again to urged the public to wait for the outcome of the investigations from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) rather than conduct a “trial by media”. He said that the action will be taken against the debt-ridden state investment arm if they was found to have violated the law.
In terms of claims of wrongdoing, Najib said there are a number of independent investigations, some of which he ordered by it self. Rather than conduct a trial by media, he said that they must wait for the outcome of these investigations. If there’s wrongdoing, he said he can assure that the appropriate action will be taken against those responsible.
Najib in his welcome address at the Global Transformation Forum in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. Meanwhile, he also admitted to the hall of international delegates that 1MDB had gone through difficult times, but added that Putrajaya was also tackling on this.
“1MDB’s turnaround required it to continue operating without any interference. It will be remiss for me not to acknowledge that one of our state strategic development companies, 1MDB, has faced a very challenging period recently. However we are taking concrete measures to address this,” said Najib.
He added that 1MDB is in the midst of implementing a rationalisation plan which if allowed to continue unimpeded would allow the company to pay off its outstanding debt and resolve the cash flow issues it is facing. While in July, The Wall Street Journal had also reported that the investigations into the debt-ridden 1MDB had allegedly uncovered US$700 million (RM2.67 billion) channelled into Najib’s personal accounts.
However, the Prime Minister was also rejected that the allegations which to saying that he had never taken funds for personal gain from 1MDB or any other entities. In the same time, Najib also said that the government was committed to bringing about sustainable and inclusive transformation.
In the same time, he also said that the government was on track to achieving the balanced of the budget “or as close to that as possible” by 2020, and also pointed to the reducing deficit each year. To achieve this, he said there were some hard decisions had to be made.
Over the last year, for instance, he said they have also undertook two very tough measures while also referring to the removal of fuel subsidies and the introduction of the goods and services tax (GST). Lastly, he also added that the politically tough, politically unpopular but the right thing to do while that has also increased the tax base significantly.
