THE Finance Ministry should reveal what were the conflicts of interest that got Arul Kanda Kandasamy removed from the boards of Bandar Malaysia and Tun Razak Exchange (TRX), said DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua.

The sudden removal of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) president from the boards was a “big thing” in the light of Putrajaya’s decision to scrap its Bandar Malaysia joint venture with the IWH-CREC consortium, said the Petaling Jaya Utara MP.

“He was integral to the deal that was signed with IWH-CREC, (so) the question of conflicts of interest that was raised by the ministry… what were they?

“This is something we hope the ministry will clarify. Arul Kanda has always been the key man for 1MDB and (Prime Minister) Najib Razak.

“For him to be suddenly removed is a big, big thing,” Pua told reporters in Penang last night after speaking at a DAP forum on 1MDB.

The opposition MP, who is a member of the Public Accounts Committee and one of 1MDB’s biggest critics, said Arul Kanda’s removal raised too many questions as to his actual role in the entire Bandar Malaysia saga.

Earlier during the forum, Pua said Arul Kanda’s removal might be followed by other exciting developments involving 1MDB.

Arul Kanda was chairman of Bandar Malaysia Sdn Bhd and a member of the TRX City Sdn Bhd board.

The decision to remove him from his positions was made by Najib, who is also finance minister, and Treasury secretary-general and 1MDB board of directors head Irwan Serigar Abdullah, according to sources.

The Finance Ministry is the sole shareholder of 1MDB, after its real estate assets of Bandar Malaysia and TRX were transferred to TRX City.

On May 3, Putrajaya terminated a 2015 share sale agreement between TRX City and IWC-CREC, saying the deal had lapsed because the joint venture had not fully completed the RM7.42 billion purchase of 60% equity after 12 extensions.

However, IWC-CREC has disputed claims that it had not made good of its payments, and has threatened to challenge the decision. – May 9, 2017.