KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 ― Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad pointed out today that Putrajaya will have to bear the losses incurred by 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), noting it was the government that had invested in the troubled state-owned firm to begin with.

The former prime minister said 1MDB was “wrong” from the beginning, pointing out that the sovereign wealth fund was not put before Parliament.

“If 1MDB loses money, the government will bear the loss,” Dr Mahathir wrote on his blog.

“Yet the operation of 1MDB is not overseen by government officers responsible for the management of government funds,” he added.

Dr Mahathir said 1MDB had borrowed money and as such, it was “not sovereign wealth but sovereign debt”.

He said the government had invested RM1 million in 1MDB, which then went on to borrow purportedly RM42 billion.

“A company with 1 million ringgit capital with no assets cannot borrow 42,000 times its capital with no collaterals. That 1MDB is able to do so is because of government guarantees. In other words it is government which is borrowing the money,” said the elder statesman.

He also said the presentation of 1MDB’s budget to Cabinet and its approval appeared to be unclear.

“There seems to be attempts to hide behind official secrecy,” said Dr Mahathir.

Dr Mahathir said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is “ultimately responsible” for the country’s finances as the latter prefers to continue holding on to the Finance Ministry portfolio.

He also said 1MDB’s management cannot reject Najib’s advice as the company advisor.

“Since then three CEOs of 1MDB have resigned without explanation. Could it be because they could not accept the advice!” said Dr Mahathir.

The former prime minister added that governments can lose money through bad investments, but those in charge must be held responsible when huge sums of money “disappear”.

“Disappearance is different from just losing. Disappearance is about money lost which cannot be traced. This can be because of corruption or theft,” he said.

Dr Mahathir has been openly pushing for Najib’s resignation, saying that the prime minister’s refusal to address allegations such as those surrounding 1MDB and the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu put Barisan Nasional’s (BN) rule at risk.