Najib: I troll Guan Eng every day to debate issues

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had admitted to trolling Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng to debate issues with him online.

"What I want to raise now is on the (issue of) the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) with the Finance Minister, whom I frequently debate with online.

"I troll him every day," Najib said, drawing laughter from the floor when taking part in debates on the Eleventh Malaysia Plan in Parliament today (Oct 23).

He cited Lim's statement that the government would be able to recover RM10.02bil if it scrapped the ECRL project.

"If the project is cancelled, based on practice, Exim Bank will recover the loans, so how are we getting RM10bil back. I am stumped and hope this will be clarified soon," he added.

On the issue of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), Najib urged the current administration not to politicise the issue but make every effort to recover every sen back.

"I hope that in the issue of 1MDB, we do not get trapped in political questions. The issue is that we recover every ringgit for the country, and this is the crux of the matter," he said.

He cited the previous his personal attempts in 2015 with an Abu Dhabi's crown prince to reach a agreement over 1MBD loans with International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC).

"I called the crown prince for us to enter a settlement as I wanted to safe guard relations with UAE and Malaysia," he added.

In the 2016 agreement, Najib claimed that the 1MBD would have been able to recover some money.

"I hope that the Pakatan government will pursue this (settlement agreement) as we want to get back our money,"  he added.

He said authorities should travel to Abu Dhabi to record statements from individuals there.

"If they cheated and stole money, we need to claim back the money regardless of who they are. Don't let them get away," he said.

Najib said he wanted to pursue the settlement agreement after the May 9 general election.

He claimed the Pakatan government was aware of the settlement agreement with IPIC and should make it public.

It was reported that Najib, who is currently facing graft and money laundering charges, might also be charged soon over his role in the 1MDB deal with IPIC.