KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 — Continuing his barrage of questions on troubled 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), DAP’s Tony Pua asked today the Cabinet to explain its unanimous agreement to what he called a “mysterious” foreign firm’s US$1 billion (RM3.69 billion) offer to settle the state-owned company’s massive debt pile.

The federal opposition lawmaker said the ministers’ blind acceptance of the deal with Abu Dhabi-based International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) was worrisome, casting doubt on the foreign company’s willingness to enter into a business transaction in which the terms were unknown nor finalised.

“If the US$1 billion is not a ‘loan’ from the Abu Dhabi investment arm, then what is it and how did the Cabinet Members give its endorsement to the plan?” he asked in a statement.

He noted that 1MDB’s chief executive Arul Kanda Kandasamy had clearly denied the US$1 billion offer to be a loan or bailout, even as Second Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah announced last Friday the state-owned company would sign a deal with IPIC and its subsidiary Aabar Investments to receive the money by June 4, but without elaborating on the terms and conditions.

The Petaling Jaya Utara MP further pointed out that Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz had clarified yesterday that none of the Cabinet members had asked any question on the 1MDB proposal by Husni.

“Was it because they understood perfectly the proposed ‘restructuring plan’ which was tabled and hence there was no necessity to question?

“Or, was it because they were intimidated by Dato’ (sic) Seri Najib Razak’s less than subtle threat asking ‘…if somehow, some of you feel uncomfortable with this, please hand in or write (your resignation), and I will understand’?” asked Pua.

He feared the implications on taxpayers if the government signed such a deal with a foreign company in a bid to settle 1MDB’s growing debt, now said to have ballooned to RM42 billion.

“It is clear that these self-serving Cabinet Members were more interested to protect their ministerial positions than to protect the interest of billions of ringgit of Malaysian tax-payers funds and liabilities in 1MDB.

1MDB was incorporated in 2009, after the prime minister announced the decision to turn state fund Terengganu Investment Authority into a federal agency.

Since then, 1MDB has been dogged by negative publicity over its finances and a debt pile that has reportedly hit RM42 billion, and most recently cash flow problems that saw it struggle to meet a RM2 billion loan payment.