This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on October 26, 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: State investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) is currently an empty shell, holding absolutely nothing but some RM40 billion of debts, said opposition lawmaker and DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua.

“How in the world is 1MDB on track to realise a profit?” Pua asked in reference to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s remarks on Tuesday that the fund not only brought good to the country but is on track to realise a profit.

Najib said in a statement on Tuesday that 1MDB played a key role in solving the lopsided power agreements signed by a former leader.

The prime minister added that 1MDB’s bids were the lowest in all the agreements, which would inadvertently save the country RM200 billion over 20 years.

“We are thankful that Datuk Seri Najib [has] finally admitted that those independent power producers (IPPs) were allowed to profit astronomically from the BN (Barisan Nasional) government which he was part of before,” Pua said in a statement yesterday.

“However, Malaysians are still clueless as to how 1MDB apparently solved the injustice. As far as we are concerned, Malaysians didn’t enjoy a single sen in benefit as electricity tariffs have only increased since 1MDB started acquiring these IPPs.

“Worse, 1MDB’s RM12.1 billion misadventure in the power sector resulted in multibillion-ringgit losses when it was forced to dispose of its entire energy interests to a China outfit for a mere RM9.3 billion,” he added.

On the alleged benefits from 1MDB, Najib had said the entity also funded the construction and upgrade of eight military bases, and that 1MDB, as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR), sponsored RM690 million for haj pilgrimages and scholarships.

To this, Pua claims that Malaysians had not been told the CSR was “funded entirely” with government-guaranteed debt amounting to more than RM40 billion.

“The prime minister has to date failed to debunk this exposé by the US Department of Justice,” he said.

“He should table a ministerial statement to ‘debunk’ all the so-called ‘lies’ by members of the opposition and allow for a full debate on the 1MDB scandal.”