1MDB’s plans for a nuclear cash cow

Researcher draws links between investment company and Malaysia's first nuclear power plant

KUALA LUMPUR: The troubled government investment arm 1Malaysia Development Bhd may have plans to milk a future “cash cow” by going into the nuclear power generating business, according to a speculative analysis by a business school researcher.

Wan Ahmad Fayhsal, a fellow at Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Putra Business School, wrote about the links between 1MDB and Malaysia Nuclear Power Corporation, a government unit in the Prime Minister’s Department.

He also set out the links between key people in the two organisations, the role of financier played by Azman Hashim’s right hand man in AmBank group, and the Wei brothers, successful construction and property development businessmen and their links to Jho Low.

Jho Low, the Penang-born businessman with close relationships with the family of prime minister Najib Razak, is being sought by a government task force investing the affairs of 1MDB. Two others are being sought, Suboh Md. Yassin and Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, both named as directors of SRC International, a company linked to 1MDB.

The government has said the pair had gone overseas and could not be traced.

Wan Ahmad said the two were also on the board of another company, Gandingan Mentari Sdn. Bhd., which featured in a trail of transactions by which some US$900 million was channelled into private banking accounts held in Najib’s name.

He said Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil’s name had also cropped up in reports about Jho Low and transactions involving 1MDB’s joint venture with PetroSaudi International.

Wan Ahmad said he recalled having seen Suboh Md Yassin at the Nuclear Power Asia conference in Kuala Lumpur in January, which Suboh attended as chairman of Malaysia Nuclear Power Corporation, and had carried out research on company records at the Companies Commission of Malaysia

The other names turned up: Wie Hock Kiong and Cheah Tek Kuang, as board members who like Suboh and Nik Faisal did not have any background on nuclear-related matters.

Wan Ahmad said Wie was a successful property developer formerly with Putrajaya Perdana Bhd, which was acquired by the UBG banking group in a deal that involved Jho Low and PetroSaudi International.

He traced how the Tabung Haji pilgrims fund became involved, buying a 30 per cent stake in a related company, with Tabung Haji chairman Azeez Rahim joining Perdana Putrajaya’s board. “It is well known that Abdul Azeez, from Umno, is very close to Najib Razak and his wife,” the analyst said.

Wan Ahmad questioned whether two board members of SRC International, recently held in custody for a few days by the anti-corruption agency, were being questioned about off-market transaction of shares involving Tabung Haji taking a controlling stake in one of the companies.

He asked why Wie was on the nuclear corporation board and asked if Wie was to be the “developer” for the civil works for a nuclear power plant.

He speculated that Cheah Tek Kuang was to be the financier for deals involving a nuclear plant, describing Chear as the right hand-man of AmBank group founder and chairman Azman Hashim.

Wan Ahmad wrote that Ambank was “one of the favourite banks used by Jho Low and 1MDB to raise sukuk and bonds”, AmInvestment was the lead arranger of sukuk murabahah for 1MDB-owned Bandar Malaysia Sdn Bhd and AmIslamic Bank had been named in news reports as managing Najib’s personal private banking accounts currently under investigation by the 1MDB Special Task Force.

He said: “Given their links with 1MDB are they the key players for Najib to prepare 1MDB to be an energy behemoth through its subsidiary Edra Global Energy by going nuclear?”

Wan Ahmad, quoting company records, said the corporation was set up to plan a nuclear energy development programme for Malaysia and to carry out Malaysia’s first nuclear power plant.

He said Najib as prime minister had ultimate and total control of the corporation, as with 1MDB, and had the final say on important decisions. He said the company’s charter provided “total and absolute” power to the prime minister to decide matters especially on finance.

“we could say that, in reality, Najib is 1MDB; 1MDB is Najib; and Najib is MNPC, and MNPC is Najib,” Wan Ahmad wrote.

He said Johor had been cited as the best location for a nuclear plant, where excess electricity generated could be easily distributed to the industrial district of Pengerang and even to Singapore.

Wan Ahmad speculated that the nuclear corporation, under Najib’s control, would use a 1MDB subsidiary, 1MDB Energy Global, to be the owner and operator of Malaysia’s first nuclear power plant.

He said 1MDB and MNPC were clearly meant for each other, and their integration would unlock billions of ringgit in value that might arise because the lucrative power generation concession from a nuclear plant would outlive the life span of ordinary coal-fired power plants.

He speculated that 1MDB might acquire Tenaga Nasional profitable power generation business to go with the nuclear power plant, saying that 1MDB would definitely be a real cash cow. “The billion dollar question is: who will benefit from such deal?,” Wan Ahmad wrote.