GE14 | The 1MDB scandal which has plagued former premier Najib Abdul Razak's administration is one of the issues which led to BN's exit from power, his brother and CIMB chairperson Nazir Razak told Bloomberg in an interview today.

“The big, noisy element was the 1MDB crisis. On hindsight, 1MDB also led to other things, there were second and third order effects.

“Given the incongruous treatment of the 1MDB issue at home and abroad, of course, it has affected Malaysia's reputation...I think the rakyat also voted against that,” he added.

However, with a new government incoming, Nazir said this presented an opportunity to change the narrative on the issue.

Quizzed on what would be the best resolution, the banker replied: “To give full transparency and to deal with it as I have been saying in the past.”

Pakatan Harapan chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad had accused Najib of siphoning funds from 1MDB.

He also accused the authorities of covering up the scandal despite investigations carried out in various other countries. The former BN government denied this.

Najib, on the other hand, had accused Mahathir of attempting to topple him from power with false allegations.

He claimed that the RM2.6 billion in his personal bank accounts was a donation from a Saudi royalty while Mahathir and the opposition insisted it originated from 1MDB.

Najib also denied abusing public funds for personal gain.

1MDB also made headlines around the world when the US Department of Justice filed several civil forfeiture suits which claimed how funds were used to purchase an assortment of luxury items, ranging from a superyacht to diamond jewellery.

US attorney-general Jeff Sessions had described the case as “kleptocracy at its worst.”

The suits also implicated Najib's stepson Riza Aziz and Malaysian-born businessman Jho Low, who is said to be close to the premier's family.

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