KUALA LUMPUR (April 9): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said he would not condone any abuse in the financial management of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

In a late night interview with TV3, which was later reported by Bernama, Najib said he wanted the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Auditor-General to expedite investigations into any wrongdoing in the investment company wholly-owned by the Ministry of Finance.

"We do not give them any deadline to complete the task but they need to complete the task as fast as possible. Investigate as fast as possible because I want the rakyat to know.

"This is because I have given an assurance that in the management of 1MDB, if there is any mismanagement, we would not defend anyone," he said.

Najib, who is also the Finance Minister, said even though 1MDB's accounts were audited by Deloitte, he was still not satisfied.             

"I have proposed to the Cabinet that the Auditor-General look into the accounts and after that the PAC do it again," he said, adding that the PAC, which also had representatives from the opposition parties, could discuss the Auditor-General's Report.

Najib said 1MDB started off as an investment company with only RM1 million capital compared with Permodalan Nasional Bhd, Khazanah Nasional Bhd and other bodies, which had various capital injections.

"Thus, 1MDB needs borrowings to grow its business. Also, its assets are now more than its liabilities," he said, adding that the investment company needed time to grow or to liquidate the assets to pay off its debts.