A letter of support issued by the finance minister is equivalent to a “sovereign guarantee” and should be presented to the cabinet first before being issued, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim said today.

Anwar, who was once finance minister, said such a letter must be submitted for the notice of the cabinet first.

“This must be submitted for the notice of the cabinet. You cannot manipulate that sort of procedure. If that’s being disputed (by the government), then let’s refer to legal experts,” Anwar said at a press conference at the Parliament lobby today.

“A support letter for any project is considered a sovereign guarantee, and a guarantee letter. It is still an undertaking by the government. Take for example, the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) support letter,” he added.

Anwar, who was finance minister for six years, between 1992 and 1998 until his sacking, said he was speaking from his experience.

He also said that only the finance minister can sign support letters.

Anwar however said that it was not wrong for the auditor-general to say that there is no reason for 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) to be audited.

“The audit chief follows his terms of reference, which does not involved government-owned companies, and is only limited to agencies. That is not a problem,” he said.

“The auditor-general has so much on his plate already. The audit on the government is being done,” he added.

The finance minister had issued a support letter stating Malaysia’s undertaking for RM9.6 billion of bonds raised by 1MDB through investment firm Goldman Sachs International (GSI).

Last week, Deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan told the House that the letter of support does not exist, before appearing to admit its existence two days later.

However, he had maintained that the letter of support still doesn’t constitute a guarantee.

However, Anwar maintained that the undertaking must still be considered as a contingent liability even if it is not listed as one.