Munir: Provide factual statistics on Malaysia’s ongoing projects

KUALA LUMPUR: Financial statistics made available to the public and related to Malaysia’s ongoing projects, including the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), must be factual, with no hiding of the details, said Financial Services Professional Board (FSPB) chairman, Tan Sri Mohd Munir Abdul Majid.

He said from a regulatory standpoint, integrity is fundamental and the integrity of numbers is crucial.

He told reporters this at the Business Ethics Conference 2018 here.

The event was organised by the Asian Institute of Finance and FSPB.

Mohd Munir said there were allegations by Members of Parliament that the cost of the ECRL project had been bumped up to get funds upfront to pay for Malaysia’s debt.

“If such a thing has happened, it is obviously wrong, he said.

Council of Eminent Persons chairman Tun Daim Zainuddin was recently reported as saying the actual cost of the ECRL could be more than RM55bil.

He said the figure shared by the previous administration was only “for the first phase of the project”.

Daim explained that there would likely be a second phase of the ECRL, to cost RM11bil and if the interest rate is included, it would be much higher.

Meanwhile, newly-appointed Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the Government had been “bailing out” 1Malaysia Development Bhd’s (1MDB) debt obligations since April 2017 and payments on behalf of the fund amounted to RM6.98bil.

He also confirmed that Malaysia's debt is above RM1 trillion and contributing factors included the 1MDB debts and mega projects approved by the previous government. — Bernama state