Rahman reveals role in salvaging US$7b Aramco deal

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan said he was at the right place and the right time when the US$7 billion deal with Saudi Aramco did not progress as expected.

Abdul Rahman said the prime minister had ordered him to Riyadh at the end of 2016, after negotiations for the deal, which had gone on for around two years, were progressing very slowly.

"I asked them (what was the problem). Even though they did not want to be direct in the meeting, but outside the meeting, they told me they were worried about our country's economic situation [...]

"We are lucky because the Saudi Aramco-Petronas deal was sort of a government-to-government (negotiation) as Saudi Aramco is wholly-owned by the Saudi Arabian government while Petronas is wholly-owned by the Malaysian government.

"Therefore I, as the minister, had the opportunity to be the referee for both sides. Because I was there at the right time, the right place, I managed to reduce the gap of misunderstanding," he said at the Peneraju Professional Chartered Financial Analyst Annual Summit in Shah Alam today.

Last Sunday, Najib claimed Saudi Aramco's plan to invest US$7 billion in Petronas's Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project almost fell apart due to "misinformation" about Malaysia.

Among the claims he said was that Malaysia was a risky economy and that the Employees' Provident Fund was on the verge of bankruptcy.

He blamed this on those he claimed were "unpatriotic".

Abdul Rahman said, thankfully, the deal is now on.

"Can you all imagine if Saudi Aramco did not come (to invest), how many jobs would be lost?" he said.

The deal was inked on Feb 28, during King Salman Abdulaziz Al Saud's visit to Malaysia.

However, Abdul Rahman said there were many private companies out there trying to work out deals but they may not have the luxury of a minister trying to iron things out.

"I fear they may say that due to many negative news about our economy, which are baseless, they may decide not to invest in our country," he said.

He stressed that it is okay to question the policies and investment decisions of government funds, but making false claims about them crosses the line because it is wrong and harmful.- Mkini