KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan has asserted that the government had accorded 1Malaysia Development Berhad’s (1MDB) an explicit guarantee for only RM5.8 billion loan and not for US$3 billion as alleged by the opposition.
He said although a letter of support was given to the sovereign wealth fund for the purpose of raising bonds worth US$3 billion (RM9.6 billion), it was not tantamount to an explicit guarantee from the government.
Ahmad clarified that his statement on Nov 6 on the letter of support did not mean that there was no other support letters constituting the government’s explicit guarantee for the RM5.8 billion loan.
“I stand by my statement for it’s true and not aimed at misleading the House,” he told a news conference at Parliament lobby here, yesterday.
He was commenting on a motion proposed by Member of Parliament (MP) for Pandan Rafizi Ramli to refer him (Ahmad) to the Parliament’s Rights and Privileges Committee under Standing Order 36 (12) and 80A for allegedly misleading the House.
Ahmad said the letter meant that if 1MDB could not settle the loan, the sovereign wealth fund had to restructure its assets amounting to RM51 billion to meet its obligations.
“I’m confident that 1MDB will be able to pay its debt as the group has high quality assets backed by strong cash flows and reserves within and outside the country whose value far exceeds the RM$9.6 billion debt,” he said.
For the record, he said 1MDB had never failed to meet its repayment schedule and the government would help if there were any undertakings that needed to be resolved after all the restructuring measures had been taken.
On Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s allegation that a plan was hatched to launch an initial public offering for a company named Vertis Energy to bail out 1MDB, Ahmad said it was a baseless accusation as no such company existed, instead Vertis Energy was merely a code name for 1MDB Energy.
Meanwhile, Lenggong MP Datuk Shamsul Anuar Nasarah said that he would submit a motion to refer Anwar, who is also Permatang Pauh MP, and Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Phua to the committee over their allegations against 1MDB and the government in the Dewan Rakyat. — Bernama