Ahmad Maslan: I didn’t lie about 1MDB

Minister owns up to a ‘human mistake’ he made in Parliament and highlights the many CSR initiatives of 1MDB.

KUALA LUMPUR: The deputy finance minister today lamented the surge of bad press 1MDB was suffering from and appealed to the media to be fair and highlight the positive side of Malaysia’s beleaguered second sovereign wealth fund as well.

When speaking with reporters at Parliament lobby, Ahmad Maslan took the opportunity to clarify that he had inadvertently omitted six words from his speech at the Dewan Rakyat last week, that had led to a full blown controversy with many accusing him of either lying or trying to confuse the House.

“I’m not perfect and I make human mistakes. It’s not right for them (Anwar Ibrahim and Tony Pua) to accuse me of intentionally lying to the Dewan,” he explained.

Ahmad Maslan also made a noble attempt to shed some positive light on 1MDB when he explained, “All subsidiaries of MKD (Menteri Kewangan Diperbadankan) pay a certain amount in dividends to the government, but they are also committed to CSR projects from their profits, that benefit the rakyat.”

The Deputy Minister listed 12 CSR projects undertaken by 1MDB which included the sponsoring of 2,300 congregates to perform the Haj in Meccah (Program Khas Haji); 30,000 housing projects for Orang Asli (Jalinan Murni); mobile clinics (Klinik Bergerak 1Malaysia), additional JPA scholarships for outstanding SPM achievers for foreign universities; and many more.

Ahmad Maslan was also kind enough to direct the more inquisitive to browse through 1MDB’s website for its full list of CSR projects.