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Malaysia’s 1MDB and Abu Dhabi Feud Over Coming Bond Payment

By BRADLEY HOPE and TOM WRIGHT
Wall Street Journal
April 18, 2016

Officials worry that a default could further undermine investor confidence in Malaysia

A dispute between sovereign-wealth funds from Malaysia and Abu Dhabi over missing billions of dollars is coming to a head and could roil currency and bond markets this week.

The funds are feuding over who must make a $50 million bond payment due Monday. Each is saying the other failed to meet its obligations and is refusing to pay, potentially setting off a chain reaction leading to billions of dollars of bond defaults.

The dispute is the latest chapter in the scandal involving 1Malaysia Development Bhd., known as 1MDB, which is under investigation in seven countries, including Malaysia. The Swiss Attorney General said he was investigating possible misappropriations of about $4 billion. Continue reading “Malaysia’s 1MDB and Abu Dhabi Feud Over Coming Bond Payment”

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Abu Dhabi’s IPIC says Malaysia’s 1MDB in default on June rescue deal

CNBC/Reuters
April 18, 2016

International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) said on Monday a June agreement to provide financial support to Malaysia’s 1MDB had been terminated after the troubled sovereign vehicle failed to meet obligations to the Abu Dhabi fund.

IPIC said in a bourse filing in London the Malaysian state fund and the Asian country’s Ministry of Finance had failed to meet obligations including to pay $1.1 billion plus interest and was now in default.

While the obligations of IPIC and its subsidiary, Aabar Investments, under the June agreement had now been terminated, the Abu Dhabi fund still expected the Malaysian side to honor its commitments. Continue reading “Abu Dhabi’s IPIC says Malaysia’s 1MDB in default on June rescue deal”

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Call on Adenan to honour the 1963 Malaysia Agreement which guarantees Malaysians the right to enter Sarawak for the sole purpose of engaging in legitimate political activity in the 11th Sarawak state elections

The barring of the DAP Political Bureau Director and MP for Kluang, Liew Chin Tong, from entering Sarawak today bespeaks of two things:

Firstly, the continued abuse of power in the country to deny to Malaysians the fundamental right of freedom of movement in their own country. This will make Malaysia another reason to be the laughing stock of the world where Malaysians dan visit Beijing, Moscow, Havana but not Kuching, Sibu or Miri.

DAP supports immigration autonomy for Sarawak and Sabah to protect the two states from being swamped by West Malaysians in the employment market, but this is not designed to deny to Malaysians the fundamental right of freedom to travel in their own country.

Section 67 of the Immigration Act 1963 makes it very clear that there should be no bar on Malaysians entering Sarawak for the sole purpose of engaging in legitimate political activity, and there is nothing which is more of a “legitimate political activity” than the 11th Sarawak state general elections.

This is why the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is a frequent traveller to Sarawak – to engage in legitimate political activity in the 11th Sarawak state general election on May 7. Continue reading “Call on Adenan to honour the 1963 Malaysia Agreement which guarantees Malaysians the right to enter Sarawak for the sole purpose of engaging in legitimate political activity in the 11th Sarawak state elections”

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AG Apandi should explain why he regards the Saudi Foreign Minister’s statement as gospel truth and is even prepared to rely on the “reported statement” by Saudi foreign minister to justify no further investigation on Najib’s RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal?

This is really flabbergasting. So keen is the Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamad Apandi Ali to exonerate the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak of any wrongdoing in the RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal that Malaysia’s Public Prosecutor is even prepared to rely on the Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir’s “reported statement” to declare that there is no need for further investigation into the RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal, without even waiting for confirmation that Al-Jubeir had indeed exonerated the Malaysian Prime Minister!

Apandi should explain why he is prepared to rely on the “reported statement” by the Saudi foreign minister that the billions of ringgit deposited into Najib’s personal banking accounts were “a genuine donation” from Saudi Arabia “with nothing expected in return” without even confirming that the Saudi foreign minister had in fact made such a statement?

Furthermore, is it of no consequence to the Attorney-General that Al-Jubeir had made a U-turn on the very same issue as in early February, the Saudi Foreign Minister had told New York Times that he did not think the RM2.6 billion deposited into Najib’s personal bank accounts was a political donation, or that it originated from the Saudi government?
Instead, Al-Jubeir said the money was from an unspecified “investment”, even saying that it was from “a private Saudi citizen”.

Did Apandi seek an explanation from Al-Jubeir for his U-turn statement on the very same issue in a matter of two short months, to find out the reason for such a sudden change of mind? Continue reading “AG Apandi should explain why he regards the Saudi Foreign Minister’s statement as gospel truth and is even prepared to rely on the “reported statement” by Saudi foreign minister to justify no further investigation on Najib’s RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal?”