KUALA LUMPUR (May 28): The status of Good Star Ltd's ownership is important to determine if 1Malaysia Development Bhd's (1MDB) funds was indeed used for investment, DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang said.

Lim said this in a statement today after The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published a letter, which appeared to be from Bank Negara Malaysia to Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Datuk Hasan Arifin. The PAC is investigating 1MDB.
 
Lim said : "Good Star is a test case whether Malaysia is prepared to be a responsible member of the global community or trying to be a hermit state to cut off the country from the  international flow of events."

He said the Good Star issue "would raise serious concerns if it is owned by individuals or entities unrelated to the joint-venture (JV)" between 1MDB and PetroSaudi International Ltd.

According to 1MDB's website, the 1MDB-PetroSaudi JV was set up in September 2009. 1MDB said it had terminated the JV in March 2010.

Last Thursday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak claimed that based on 1MDB records, PetroSaudi owned Good Star when 1MDB transferred funds to Petrosaudi for the JV. The Malaysian Government via Minister of Finance Inc owns 100% of 1MDB.

Najib, who is also finance minister, said in Parliament : "All payments made by 1MDB is to acquire 40% of equity in the joint venture company. The funds was confirmed received by PetroSaudi Group based on the agreements signed at the time the payment was made."

Yesterday, Reuters quoted Najib as saying Bank Negara Governor Datuk Muhammad Ibrahim had asked the police to investigate WSJ under the Official Secrets Act for leaking the confidential document.

Reuters quoted a spokeswoman for Dow Jones & Co, which owns WSJ as saying "we stand behind our fair and accurate reporting of this evolving story and remain committed to providing robust coverage of events in Malaysia."

Reuters reported that Bank Negara was not immediately available for comment.

Today, Lim said the issue on whether WSJ had breached the OSA "must not be allowed to overshadow an even greater public interest issue."