1Malaysia Development Bhd must break its "elegant silence" and address speculation about the firm, instead of letting things fester, Umno supreme council member Reezal Merican said.
The Kepala Batas MP’s stern reprimand of the state investment firm comes after Singapore’s Business Times reported that banks are demanding that 1MDB pay up US$975 million (RM3.52 billion) of its debts.
"Personally, I feel the failure of 1MDB’s management to come forward with an explanation is very irresponsible.
"I am confident that as professionals the firm’s top management has the answer to the questions raised but sadly, they are not taking swift action and prefer to let bad perception to build up first. […]
"The 1MDB issue will be a festering wound in the eyes of the people for as long as they drag their feet in giving an explanation, and this will in turn hurt the credibility of the government," he said in a statement.
If 1MDB does not come forward with the truth, "someone else will", he said.
A group of six international banks are seeking for early payment of their US$975 million (RM3.6 billion) loan to cash-strapped 1MDB, Business Times reported.
The loan from the consortium of banks led by Deutsche Bank is only due in September but it would seem they have become increasingly jittery over 1MDB's financial status.
The report said the banks had initially granted the loan after 1MDB offered US$1.103 billion as collateral through its unit Brazen Sky Limited in BSI Singapore. The collateral was part of the 1MDB funds previously deposited in the Cayman Islands.
However, the creditor banks now believe that the securitisation documents of the loan to be incomplete and can therefore demand immediate payment.
1MDB's total liabilities amount to RM42 billion.
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