Will the real ‘idiot’ please stand up? Dr Mahathir, Najib renew 1MDB war

KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime ministers Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Datuk Seri Najib Razak remain locked in a war of words over the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) financial scandal, with the latter hitting back after being called an “idiot”.

Najib, who was made a target of Dr Mahathir’s ire last night, defended himself on Facebook, saying that in 2018 1MDB’s debt stood at RM5 billion in sukuk, US$3.5 billion (RM14.6 billio) in bonds guaranteed by International Petroleum Investment Company (Ipic), and another RM3 billion in bonds.

He added that this was confirmed by the parliamentary committee in 2019. He also shared news articles that point to 1MDB’s debts totalling RM32.2 billion as of last June.

“Can Tun tell me which sukuk or bonds that were paid off during PH (Pakatan Harapan) and PN’s (Perikatan Nasional) time in power?”

Najib also questioned why Dr Mahathir did not comment on certain 1MDB-linked projects such as the cancellation of the deal with Ipic that was supposed to pay back US$6.5 billion before December 30, 2020, and the Bandar Malaysia project worth RM140 billion, among others.

“Who is the actual idiot here?” he asked.

Last night, when stumping for Pejuang in Johor’s Felda Ayer Hitam, Dr Mahathir called Najib an “idiot” for claiming the federal government has yet to pay a “single sen” of 1MDB’s principal debts. 

He also described Najib as “shameless” despite being found guilty by the high court in the SRC International case.

Najib’s slogan “malu apa bossku?” was also used against him, with Dr Mahathir saying, “when you become a thief and you are sentenced to 12 years in prison, he can still say ‘what’s there to be ashamed of’”.

He added that if Najib were to run naked in the streets, he would also be shameless about it.

Yesterday, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz told Dewan Rakyat that claims of the government had not repaid 1MDB’s principal debts do not arise as they have yet to mature.

This is in reference to claims made by Najib the day before that not a single sen of public funds has been used by the government to repay the principal amount. 

Tengku Zafrul, however, explained that the country has begun repaying the interest on the debts. 

“The allegations that we have not paid the principal debts are baseless since these will only mature later,” he said during Question Time.

He gave the example of the US$1.75 billion bond issued by 1MDB Energy Ltd, US$1.75 billion by 1MDB Energy (Langat) Ltd and US$3 billion issued by 1MDB Global Investments Ltd, all of which have a maturity period only beginning later this year.

In his debate of the royal address yesterday, Najib had said the government has not been using public funds to repay the principal amount as various other entities have already returned 1MDB-related funds totalling RM23 billion to Malaysia.  

“In 2018, the 1MDB debt stood at RM32 billion, and it remained the same from 2019 to 2021,” he had said. 

According to Zafrul, based on the latest foreign exchange rate, the Malaysian government still has approximately RM38.8 billion in 1MDB commitments yet to be settled. 

This includes a RM32.5 billion in principal amount and RM6.5 billion in interest. – The Vibes, March 4, 2022