PM: Attacks on 1MDB are all lies and not facts

KUALA LUMPUR: The attacks and criticisms on 1Malaysia Develop­ment Berhad (1MDB) are nothing but a war of perception, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

He said after properly explaining the real issue behind the 1MDB issue, it was clear that the matter could be easily resolved.

“The reality is the company has yet to default and it has assets to back up its loans.

“And a company from China has bought some of 1MDB assets worth about RM17bil,” he said in his remarks at the closing ceremony of the National undergraduate leadership conference (Pemanas 3.0) at Putra World Trade Centre yesterday.

Najib also hit out at certain people who, he said, only wanted to attack the government via a war of perception.

“They fight with us using auta bukan fakta (lies and not facts).

“I believe after properly explaining the issue, the youth will come back to us,” said Najib who is Umno president.

He also noted that Malaysia was not a failed state, but a success story that everyone should be proud of.

“When world leaders came to Malaysia recently for the Asean meeting, they showed us so much respect,” he said.

Najib said he met with several world leaders including American President Barack Obama and China’s Premier Li Keqiang to discuss various bilateral trades agreement.

“I even told President Barack Obama that Malaysia wants to participate in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), but on our terms.

“We must understand, our competitors now are advanced economies such as Korea and Europe.

“If Vietnam dares to enter the TPPA, where is our courage?

“We cannot just cheer from behind.

“We must be brave to compete with international players and succeed,” the Prime Minister said.

He said the Government had to make unpopular decisions for the betterment of the country.

“When we develop a country, we must understand there are a lot of constraints for the Government.

“There must be a trade off. Although some decisions seem unpopular, the Government is doing so for the betterment of the country in the long term,” he said.