KUALA LUMPUR: Any sale of government assets to settle the national debt will not involve those that fall under Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB).
Tony Pua, Member of Parliament for Damansara and Political Secretary to Minister of Finance, clarified a statement he had made earlier that a disposal of government assets may involve the realisation of value of selected non-core assets held via entities such as Khazanah Nasional and PNB.
"I would like to make a clarification and correction to my statement above that any sale of our assets, if at all, would not involve the PNB.
"This is because, while PNB is an entity incorporated and managed by the Government, the funds and investments by PNB belong to the unit holders and not the Government," he said in a statement issued on Monday.
"The unintended confusion which may have been caused, arising from the mistaken example provided is much regretted."
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had said during his keynote speech at the Malaysia: A New Dawn conference that the government may consider disposing of valuable assets to settle the nation's considerable debt.
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