Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA) - the predecessor of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) - tried to use Terengganu's oil and gas assets as collateral, way back in 2008, former Terengganu menteri besar Ahmad Said revealed yesterday.
TIA was renamed as 1MDB in 2009 after it was taken over by Putrajaya.
Speaking in the Terengganu state assembly yesterday, Ahmad said the state government, however, pulled out of the deal due to a numerous problems.
"This was one of the reasons the Prime Minister (Najib Abdul Razak) was angry with me, including other problems which ended with (the state government) pulling out," Ahmad ( right ) is quoted as saying by Malay daily Sinar Harian.
He said Terengganu did not suffer any losses, as it had succeeded in getting back its RM1 million capital.
Ahmad was removed from office last year and he momentarily quit Umno, allegedly because he was forced to quit before his daughter's wedding.
Deals involving 1MDB and public funds or assets have been coming out of the woodworks since last week.
This includes more than RM1 billion pumped into the state investment fund under the Finance Ministry by Tabung Haji via sukuk and land purchases.
Other government-linked companies, Permodalan Nasional Bhd and Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP), have also been linked to 1MDB, although KWAP has said it has yet to commit to any investment in 1MDB.
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