February 28, 2018
Troubled sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) will be shut down once it has paid all its debts.
The fund’s Chairman, Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah, said at a press conference on Tuesday (Feb 28) that he was confident the company would be able to repay all its debts through the ongoing rationalization plan, The New Straits Times reported.
The debts will be paid from the revenue made by the government’s mega-projects such as the development of the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX), an upcoming international financial centre in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), which will link the country’s east and west coasts, and the second Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project.
“Soon, residents who own a place in the TRX city will pay rent, and we will also sell land plots of Bandar Malaysia which will be developed with public transport such as high-speed train, ECRL,and MRT, Irwan Serigar said, according to The New Straits Times.
“Through this, we will pay the debts.”
Unveiled in 2009 by current Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, 1MDB made headlines for all the wrong reasons in 2015 when allegations were made that money had been misappropriated from the fund.
Najib was among those thrust into the spotlight, accused of channeling $700 million into his personal bank accounts. He was eventually cleared of wrongdoing.
It will take time for the state fund to clear its debts.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day, we will not get the revenue immediately, instead it will take more than 10 years to generate income from the long-term development,” Irwan Serigar said.