KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 25): 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 the country good 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 inadvertently saved the country RM200 billion over the next 20 years.

 "We are thankful that Datuk Seri Najib finally admitted that those independent power producers (IPPs) were allowed to profit astronomically from the BN government of which he was part of before," Pua said in a statement today.

"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 and not decreased since 1MDB started acquiring these IPPs.

"Worse, 1MDB's RM12.1 billion misadventure in the power sector resulted in multi-billion 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.

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

To this, Pua said, Najib allegedly failed to tell Malaysians that the CSR was 'funded entirely' with government-guaranteed debt amounting to more than RM40 billion.

"More pertinently, while RM690 million of the debt may have found its way to CSR initiatives, US$732 million or approximately RM3 billion found its way from 1MDB to Najib's personal bank account in AmBank between 2011 [and] 2014.

"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 the members of the opposition and allow for a full debate on the 1MDB scandal," Pua added.