People
&Markets
Malaysia
welcomes first
1MDB transfer
Malaysia expects to recover only about 30%
of the funds allegedly siphoned off from
state fund 1MDB ûITSûlNANCEûMINISTERûSAIDûLASTû
week, after a Singapore court ordered the
transfer of about S$15.3m (US$11.1m) as
part of a probe into the scandal.
,IMû'UANû%NG ûINSTALLEDûASûlNANCEû
minister in May following the Pakatan
Harapan’s shock election victory, welcomed
the transfer, but said it would take time to
recover more assets.
“Of course we want to get as much as
we can,” said Lim. The reality is you can’t
get the actual amount. You’d be very lucky
to get half. Realistically you are looking at
maybe 30%.”
Lim, in Hong Kong to attend the CLSA
investor forum, said maintenance costs
would eat into the residual value of any
assets that could be recovered.“We subscribe to the rule of law, and the
rule of law sometimes moves at a glacial
pace, especially when it involves other
countries,” said Lim.
Singapore is among at least six countries
investigating claims that about US$4.5bn
WASûMISAPPROPRIATEDûFROMû-$" ûAûFUNDû
founded by former Malaysian Prime
-INISTERû.AJIBû2AZAK
In May, Singapore and Malaysia agreed
to cooperate on returning the funds to the
Malaysian government and the court order
CLEAREDûTHEûWAYûFORûTHEûlRSTûREPATRIATIONûOFû
funds from Singapore.
h4HEû3MûRECOVEREDûISûTHEûlRSTûPHASEû
of the ongoing efforts to recover funds
that were unlawfully misappropriated
FROMûTHEû-$"ûANDORû32#û)NTERNATIONALû
group of companies,” Tan, Rajah and
#HEAH ûAû3INGAPORE
BASEDûLAWûlRMûSAIDûINûAû
statement.
“Millions more are expected to be
recovered in time,” it added.
Lim said the new government was
FOCUSEDûONûlLLINGûAûhlSCALûHOLEvûCREATEDûBYû
his predecessor Najib, who served as both
PRIMEûMINISTERûANDûlNANCEûMINISTERûUNTILûhis May election defeat.
He reiterated a pledge to renegotiate
or cancel a list of “pricey” projects signed
under the previous administration, but
dismissed concerns that revisions to
existing contracts would alienate potential
investors.
“When we can cut back on some of these
PRICEYûPROJECTS ûITûINSTILSûCONlDENCEûINûTHEû
marketplace that we say what we mean and
we mean what we say,” he said.
“We will not be reckless. We will not
implement projects that we cannot afford.
I would think this rational approach will
LIMITûANYûlNANCIALûDAMAGE ûANDûWILLûBEû
seen as being prudent and responsible.”
Lim pointed to Malaysia’s relative
stability in the face of a global emerging-
market sell-off, with the ringgit among
Asia’s best performing currencies against
the US dollar.
“The reason is our strong trade balance,
our strong current account surplus and
the fact we have got very high reserves,”
HEûSAIDûh)MûSTILLûCONlDENTûTHATûWEûWILLûBEû
able to ride out a storm – if there is any.”
STEVE GARTON, FATHIN UNGKU