(April 27): DAP said last night that it would continue to seek answers on pressing issues like state investment vehicle 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), even though it might be dragged to court over it.

Secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said the fight for answers would continue despite the challenges and difficulties.

“Because of the 1MDB issue, we have paid the price. Tony Pua has become the first in Malaysian history to be sued by the prime minister (Datuk Seri Najib Razak).

“If you think you can shut him up from raising the 1MDB issue and us from raising the 1MDB issue, you are wrong. We will not bow, we will not back down and we will not surrender,” Lim said at the Impian Sarawak fundraising dinner in Subang Jaya last night.

Najib is suing PJ Utara MP Tony Pua and MediaRakyat portal owner Chan Chee Kong for defamation over their statements on 1MDB.

Najib filed the suit through Messrs Hafarizam Wan & Aisha Mubarak at the KL High Court civil registry last month.

In the suit, Najib said Pua had delivered a speech relating to 1MDB at a DAP fund-raising dinner on November 3 last year where the latter had slandered him.

He said the speech was then uploaded by Chan or his agents onto MediaRakyat's YouTube channel and MediaRakyat's webpage.

Najib is seeking an apology, retraction of the statement and compensation.

Pua has said that he will contest the suit.

Lim said it was necessary for the people to know the truth about the nation’s debt-ridden investment arm because Putrajaya had until now failed to reveal 1MDB’s real debt situation.

“They say they have debt of RM42 billion, then asset of RM52 billion which was enough to cover and pay the debt. How did they get RM52 billion? They only play with numbers. I am an accountant, I know. They only marked up the price. When selling the price does not reach the amount, that is why we said 1MDB is almost bankrupt.”

Lim said that 1MDB “feared” addressing or explaining the issues to the public, which was why it had rejected an invitation to attend the Invest Malaysia 2015 forum organised by leading bank CIMB.

CIMB group chairman Datuk Seri Nazir Razak, who is Najib’s brother, told news portal Malaysiakini that he was disappointed that 1MDB had declined the invitation to the event, which was not helpful.

"They declined to participate. I am disappointed because I think they would have been an important element of Invest Malaysia, given the backchat on the topic,” he was quoted as saying.

He also told the online news portal that it was better for the controversy surrounding 1MDB to be cleared up fast for the benefit of the people.

1MDB has come under fire for its financial mismanagement, debts, questionable investments and borrowings.

Since its inception in 2009, the strategic development fund, which is owned by the Finance Ministry, has amassed a whopping RM42 billion in debts.

Najib, who chairs 1MDB's advisory board, has come under attack from various quarters over the firm's massive losses and dubious dealings, especially from Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The former prime minister has repeatedly asked Najib to step down, and said in his latest blog posting that unaccounted funds from 1MDB spending showed money had "disappeared", adding that Najib's inability to explain the matter disqualified him from leading the country.

Dr Mahathir also hinted at corruption and theft of 1MDB's funds, saying that money disappearing was "different from just losing".

Lim said that DAP was on the same page as Dr Mahathir on 1MDB.

“You know we (DAP) were always not on the same page as (Dr) Mahathir. We are on the opposite side, but if truth to be told, if he asked the right question we should give credit where it’s due,” he said to about 1,000 supporters who came to the fundraising dinner event last night. – The Malaysian Insider