Petronas must thank 1MDB, says Najib

Updated 7 years ago · Published on 6 Nov 2018 8:27PM · 8 Comments

Former prime minister Najib Razak is facing 38 charges linked to the 1MDB scandal. Today, he wrote in his Facebook page that Petronas and TNB had directly benefited from deals secured by the previous government and 1MDB regarding independent power producers. – The Malaysian Insight pic, November 6, 2018.

PETRONAS enjoys huge reserves because of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), said former prime minister Najib Razak.

He said on his Facebook page that the Pakatan Harapan government could pledge a Petronas dividend of RM54 billion because of the reserves left by the previous Barisan Nasional government, which were RM147 billion at the end of March 2018.

“BN did not force Petronas to pay such high dividends and we managed to resolve the issue of the independent power producers (IPP) legacy in 2012 which was one-sided.

“After 1MDB took over the IPPs it became the second largest IPP company in Malaysia, this enabled the government to hold its first open tender in history in September 2012 for an IPP agreement.”

The Pekan MP said this is why Pakatan Harapan stopped raising the issue of the IPP after 2013, when previously they had complained that it had cost the government to lose between RM20 billion and RM30 billion annually.

He said that 1MDB had the lowest bid for every new IPP bid or renewal it had entered into.

“This move then forces other bidders to lower their prices as well, eliminating the issue of one-sided agreements.

“For over 15 years before 2012, Petronas was forced to subsidise and supply gas to IPPs at very low prices. For example, Petronas’s gas price to IPPs in 2009 was only RM6.40 per MMBtu (one million British Thermal Units which measures energy content in fuel).

“This resulted in losses of RM10 billion every year for Petronas.”

He said that from 2012, Petronas began gradually increasing its gas price to IPPs to eventually hit RM22.70 per MMBtu in 2017.

“Therefore, Petronas’ losses in giving the subsidy ranging from RM13 billion to RM15 billion annually was reduced to RM1 billion or RM2 billion a year.

“This saving is clearly stated in Petronas’ annual report. It’s undeniable and has been revealed before but many do not want to read and understand.

Najib Razak wrote on his Facebook page that the previous government had managed to resolve the long contentious issue of independent power producers. He said after 1MDB took over the IPPs it became the second largest IPP company in Malaysia. – AFP file pic, November 6, 2018.

He said this also meant that Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) did not have to pay high prices to independent IPPs. This he said allowed it to reap high profits each year and not require a government bailout.

Najib said “dividend payments and higher share prices will directly benefit all Malaysians” as the Employees Provident Fund, Permodalan Nasional Berhad and Tabung Haji were among TNB’s major shareholders.

“I was condemned because after this biased IPP problem was resolved, 1MDB sold the IPPs through open tender which were won by Chinese companies and likened to selling the country to them.

“It should be noted that before 1MDB took over, these IPPs were not owned by the government but belonged to private parties, often said to be cronies of mine.”

The former Umno president also asked if it were better for the IPPs to be owned by an international company through fair deals or by private companies through one-sided arrangements.

Najib, has pleaded not guilty to 38 charges related to 1MDB and affiliated units. 

“It is ironic that they say that I used 1MDB to rob while the facts show that Petronas and TNB now earn RM20 billion annually, which is the loss often referred to by PH in the past.

“This would amount to RM400 billion over 20 years, the average duration of the IPP agreement.” – November 6, 2018.

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Comments

  • Najib is getting more and more delusional it seems.

    Posted 7 years ago by Rupert Lum · Reply

  • So we now need to thank Najib for not taking more money from Petronas, and leaving a huge reserve to save Malaysia?

    Posted 7 years ago by Roger 5201 · Reply

  • All thieves are not liars....but all liars are great thieves & they steal all the time....

    Posted 7 years ago by Hantoo Blacklord · Reply

  • His own party mouth piece called him a liar and a thief. That says a lot about him.

    Posted 7 years ago by Chee yee ng · Reply

  • We must thank PH for saving the nation. Had BN won Petronas will be used as the cash cow to pay the huge loans borrowed. Since when a thief admits to his crime? All the pieces of evidence and misdeeds committed without any doubt points to him and his cohorts the biggest thief the country has ever known. Still in denial syndrome.

    Posted 7 years ago by Justin Leno · Reply

  • Hey, dont explain to us; explain to utusan! And in case you forgot, the daily belongs to Umno, not PH.

    Posted 7 years ago by Rock Hensem · Reply

  • Does that mean we should also thank Najib for 1MDB, otherwise we would still have a kleptocrat running the country?

    Posted 7 years ago by Rupert Lum · Reply

  • If that is the case, please answer this Jibby, why is that the nation coffers was so low under your watch???

    Posted 7 years ago by Teruna Kelana · Reply