YOURSAY 'Arul, could you tell us why you missed two deadlines earlier?'
1MDB says Ananda’s RM2bil aid is 'speculation'
Vijay47: I am somewhat confused by two statements here. 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) group chief executive officer Arul Kanda said the matter of a RM2 billion loan from Ananda Krishnan (AK) was mere speculation, which it well could be. But nowhere did he categorically deny that a loan was obtained from AK.
For that to be a fact, does Ananda Krishnan "himself have to say something about it"? And, incidentally, is Ananda in the habit of making press statements?
Then, Arul adds that CIMB and Maybank themselves did not make any statement about the repayment by 1MDB. Again, do banks usually make public announcements about payments made by debtors?
Granted that Malaysians thrive on speculation. There's another one about a foreign beauty being killed on the instructions of a hotshot politician's hotter shot wife. But that's mere speculation. Don't believe it.
Abasir: "To be honest, Ananda himself had never said anything about this..." Mr Arul Kanda, since being honest has been something terribly difficult for those operating this shady scheme involving taxpayer funds, I guess we must all be grateful that you have finally decided to be... err 'honest'.
And since you are in the mood (to be honest, that is), could you tell us where you found the money now and why was it you missed two payment deadlines earlier?
Angel: Ananda could be charged under the Moneylenders Act 1951 if he lends the money because he has no money-lending licence. Ananda can lend by ‘riba’. Riba means lender-borrower, both share profit-loss together as understood in the Quran.
I do not know if ‘riba’ has been incorporated in the Moneylenders Act and it should be if Malaysia is an Islamic country. Arul may know if he is a Muslim. Many kafir knows about the meaning of ‘riba’.
Anonymous #27956568: Anyway, who will admit they took a loan from an Ah Long. The day when 1MDB defaults the payment to the Ah Long, it will automatically come out! We will all wait for that day. It is definitely going to happen as we are so sure 1MDB cannot make a profit from its investments.
Commentable: Hey, Arul Kanda, ever heard of the saying there is no smoke without fire? What sparked it then? Malaysians would be mighty glad if you explain why and how speculation involved Ananda Krishnan in the first place.
Why not Vincent Tan or some other tycoon? Furthermore, with so much money going around outside the country, why bother with any announcement if there is a deal anyway?
Spirit of Malaya: If that is the case, please tell us where the money came from and put a stop to all these speculations! The problem with 1MDB is its transparency! I mean, for a while you had a severe cash-flow problem and all of a sudden you said you managed to fully settle it without relying on the Cayman Islands funds - obviously people will start to speculate!
Capo: Why even bother making an announcement when the lenders are all aligned with the rogue chief borrower? Isn't it all in the family kind of thing?
Speaking sense: But all this while 1MDB, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his allegedly incompetent ministers have been saying 1MDB was in excellent condition. So why are all these measures needed now - disposing assets, cancelling projects, failing to meet debt deadlines, etc? Someone has been lying all this time!
ByebyeBN: So if it is speculation, then why deny it and why not state where the funds were from? Not bad, we had alleged kingpin Paul Phua, Jho Low and now Ananda. A truly 1Malaysian team.
Anti Korap: Where did 1MDB get funds to settle the earlier loan? Looks like it has taken an unfavourable new term loan to settle the bank loan? AK was said to have asked for an undertaking from an non-1MDB entity for balance that 1MDB owed him, citing "not want to be seen as getting favourable terms from a government entity". But, it is this loan that has got 1MDB to be in trouble over and over again!
So now, he loans an equivalent amount to 1MDB. Isn't it that he is setting terms for himself, the very act that he "didn’t want to be seen as getting favourable terms from a government entity"? Beware of this migrant devil in white knight robes! These loan agreements with AK's firms would have been stamped, wouldn't they?
Alternatively, as the law allows, no stamp duty is needed if the document is entered into outside of Malaysia! Inland Revenue Board (IRB), please investigate and the rest, please get a copy from the stamp office!
Vking: Arul Kanda is not more honest than anybody else in 1MDB. The company is a state investment concern and as rakyat of Malaysia, we have the right to know. Arul, please do not play hide and seek. Just tell the truth where the funds came from to pay the debts, that is all. Simple as ABC.
Hplooi: When real facts are being sparingly let out, rumours will abound. It does not help when good governance, transparency and honesty have been sparing as well. So instead of demonising the confused public, just lay out the bare facts to clear out doubts, rumours and innuendoes. And being strategically economical with facts counts as moral dishonesty.
Habis Lah: Arul's talent is very much needed by Umno Baru. He is an excellent communicator who could convey negative messages into an encouraging one, conveniently missing out few details like "settling its RM2 billion debt ahead of the Feb 18 deadline." Time will tell and truth will prevail. There is no need to ‘talk big’!
Finally Umno Baru's cybertroopers got their scripts right, but unfortunately just statements without any valid explanations that will convince the rakyat. Try harder, cybertroopers. Ask for a pay rise and do better jobs.
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