THE decision to shut down troubled sovereign fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd once its debts are cleared is a business call, said the Umno information chief.

Annuar Musa said it was purely a business decision, considering 1MDB’s already tarnished reputation.

“About 1MDB closing or not, I would take it as the board needing to make a decision.

“We have to remember that 1MDB’s name has been tarnished. It was set up with good intentions, but due to slander, its reputation has suffered.

“It would be hard for the company to do business,” he told reporters last night after speaking at the Umno-organised Perjuangan for All dialogue in Pinang Tunggal, Kepala Batas.

It was reported earlier this week that 1MDB, the brainchild of Prime Minister Najib Razak, would be closed once it had repaid all its debts.

Treasury Secretary-General Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah reportedly said the debts would be repaid using revenue obtained from the government’s mega projects, such as the Tun Razak Exchange building and East Coast Rail Link, and the second Mass Rapid Transit project.

The dissolution of 1MDB will close a chapter in the country’s corporate history filled with allegations of funds misappropriation and lavish overseas spending.

Annuar said what was most important was that the government was doing what was best for the country and people by correct a wrong business model.

He said 1MDB had gone through its rationalisation plan and settled its US$1.2 billion (RM4.7 billion) debts with Abu Dhabi’s government-owned International Petroleum Investment Co last year.

Earlier during the dialogue, when addressing a question from the floor about government information being leaked and numbers being manipulated by the opposition, Annuar used the 1MDB scandal as an example.

He said the government upheld facts and the truth, adding that Najib never blocked the 1MDB issue as it was a matter of public interest.

“From the beginning, he decided to task the auditor general and Public Accounts Committee at Parliament to look into the controversy.

“He would not have done that if he had something to hide. He had no hesitation. He knew he did nothing wrong.

“But, the issue was spun. No matter how the government answered, there were quarters that refused to listen to the explanations and continued to politicise the issue.”

He said 1MDB remained a business entity with cash in hand and assets worth more than RM60 billion.

“At the beginning, it had debts of RM42 billion. 1MDB has since reduced it by about RM10 billion, without using a single sen of the Finance Ministry’s money.

“It came from the rationalisation exercise, monetisation of bonds and others,” he said, adding that 1MDB also no longer had short-term debts.

He said the fund’s assets were being developed, with the projects having a gross development value of more than RM200 billion.

“It means that 1MDB is operating. Money is not lost, like the funds in the forex scandal,” he said, referring to the RM31 billion Bank Negara Malaysia foreign exchange scandal that took place during Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s tenure as prime minister.

Annuar said more and more people no longer wanted to hear about 1MDB, knowing that the controversy had been politicised to attack Najib.

“They blame all on Barisan Nasional just because they want Najib to fall, because someone is after his position.” – March 1, 2018.