PM: Khazanah sold assets to repay debts racked up by Najib
Sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd is selling its assets in order to help the government pay off the debt accrued by the previous administration, said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
"You must remember that the previous government borrowed more than RM1 trillion. That's a burden for us. They borrow and the money is not invested, but hidden and stolen.
"If the money is invested, we can go to the company or whatever to get back the money, but we don't know where the money is.
"At the moment we have to pay from taxes, all the assets we sell is to pay our debt. That's the burden left by Najib (Abdul Razak)," said Mahathir after launching the National Culture and Heritage Charter in Kuala Lumpur today.
Mahathir also chairs the Khazanah board of directors.
Umno leaders, including its former president Najib, have repeatedly criticised Putrajaya over Khazanah's string of divestments which most recently included the Prince Court Medical Centre in the capital.
In recent years, Khazanah was profitable until it recorded a pre-tax loss of RM6.3 billion for 2018, mostly due to impairment costs involving Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAS).
Earlier this year, Khazanah's board had given the national airline a refreshed mandate to restructure and free up more cash to the government by divesting non-strategic assets.
'Stupid' Najib
Mahathir also lashed out at Najib for criticising Putrajaya's decision not to build two out of its four Chinese-designed littoral mission ships in Malaysia.
"He talks a lot [...] including buying these ships from China. It was not our decision.
"He said it's stupid but is he (referring to) himself? He is the one who bought (the ships)," said Mahathir.
In 2017, the Najib administration committed to a RM1.17 billion contract for the four ships, two of which were supposed to be built locally by Boustead Heavy Industries Corp.
The present administration said the move not to build locally would save RM122 million but Najib said they were being "penny wise but pound foolish" because the project would be good for the local economy.
The first of the four ships has been launched by the China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co in Wuhan, China. The ship has not yet been officially delivered.
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