FORMER Terengganu menteri besar Ahmad Said says he is ready to stand as a witness in reopened investigations into the troubled 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state fund, since it had come from the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA).

“I am ready to give a statement at any time… I cannot hide because the company was initially built by the Terengganu state government,” Said, who is also known as Mat Said, told Malay-language daily Sinar Harian.

“I know how the journey ( for 1MDB) was. I was once called by the auditor-general, and had explained what happened,” he said.

Yesterday, Bernama reported that the newly-formed Council of Elders (Majlis Penasihat Kerajaan) said that they were serious about their duties, and would not waste time when they held their first meeting immediately after its formation was announced by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The meeting was chaired by former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, and was also attended by former Bank Negara Malaysia governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, former Petronas president and chief executive officer Mohd Hassan Marican, and economist Jomo Kwame Sundaram.

Dr Mahathir has also pledged to reopen investigations into allegations that billions of state funds were misappropriated by certain high-ranking individuals through 1MDB’s dealings. – May 14, 2018.