1MDB boss: I'm not a politician, my job is to make money

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1MDB president and executive director Arul Kanda has refused to get into a war of words with politicians over 1MDB, as he is just a businessman.

"From my perspective rather than getting into a war of words with politicians and former politicians, I'm not a politician, I'm a business guy.

"My job is to ensure that we need to monetise those assets that deliver best results for the shareholders," he told BBC in an interview published today.

Arul Kanda said this when asked to comment on negative public perception that 1MDB funds had allegedly been mismanaged and found its way into Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's pockets.

He denied those allegations, citing the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's statement that the RM2.6 billion donation to Najib was made by a Middle-Eastern donor.

However, Arul Kanda admitted the perception of the sovereign wealth fund was poor, and needed to be fixed.

Despite insisting that he would not get into a war of words, 1MDB has consistently issued statements lashing out at the fund's critics.

The most evident banter is between 1MDB and Tony Pua. Their back and forth statement war had gone on for days before.

1MDB had even hit out at Bank Negara governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz after she said the Ringgit would recover when the fund's money woes are resolved.

While Najib insists that the Ringgit is falling together with other currencies due to global market factors, political and economic observers claim that 1MDB and scandals surrounding the premier are to blame for the sharp drop.



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