‘Prove Arul Kanda earned RM10m in private sector’
GEORGE TOWN: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been told to furnish evidence that former 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) chief executive officer Arul Kanda Kandasamy was paid RM10 million a year prior to joining IMDB.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said he wanted Najib to prove that Arul Kanda was earning more while he was in the private sector.
“Najib claimed that Arul was paid a much higher salary in the private sector, but up to now, it is just empty talk. I hope he can provide proof of his claim,” he said yesterday.
Lim refuted Najib’s claims that Arul Kanda had made great sacrifices and contributions to 1MDB, saying that 1MDB was actually a loss-making company with huge amount of debts.
“What did he sacrifice and what were his losses? We can see that Arul profited RM5 million in just six months and this was signed by Najib.
“We are not being vindictive. We only want accountability and to know where the money went, and how did debts balloon in the 1MDB scandal.
“If our efforts for accountability and transparency are called vengeance, then how are we going to answer to the people.
“Malaysians want to know where the money went, how our debts reached RM50 billion in just one 1MDB scandal. This is not even taking into account other scandals.”
Lim said he would give Najib time to prove his claim before his court case began.
Earlier, Najib was reported to have defended Arul Kanda’s RM5 million salary package, which was described as much lower than the salary Arul Kanda was earning when he was working with a bank in the United Arab Emirates.
Najib also reportedly said Arul Kanda had managed to pare down 1MDB’s debt from RM50 billion to RM30 billion.