Arul: More important for 1MDB to settle debts than take legal action

Arul Kanda Kandasamy wants 1MDB's success to be measured through the realisation of the construction of its two mega projects, namely the Tun Razak Exchange and Bandar Malaysia.

JOHOR BARU: Only lawyers will gain from lawsuits if 1Malaysia Development Board (1MDB) took legal action against those making baseless allegations about the company, says its chief executive officer Arul Kanda (pic).

He said that proving 1MDB can resolve its debts was of more importance than suing individuals.

"We have sued some individuals for defamation but these Opposition members, who always say 'sue me' will end up using whatever means possible to drag the hearings.

"If we sue everyone, who wins? Only the lawyers will end up richer.

"So for me, what is most important is to prove that we can solve our own problems," he said in replying to a question by a member of the public at a 1MDB discussion session here on Monday (March 19).

Arul said that despite all the claims by the Opposition, the company has been operating as usual.

"Whatever the allegations, 1MDB is still paying off debts and continues its development projects such as the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) and Bandar Malaysia.

"These developments serve as good evidence to quash the Opposition's tricks in defaming the Government," he added.

He said the TRX project has successfully attracted investments from major companies.

Arul also said the 1MDB assets, largely in the property sector, currently stood at RM43bil, much higher than its total debt of RM31bil.

"It should be understood that the value of the assets will continue increasing from time to time in view of the majority of it being in the property sector.

"The company assets for now is more than enough to pay off the company's debt," he added.

Arul, however, did not deny that the 1MDB management earlier lacked experience and was a contributing factor to its problems.