In an interview with business radio station BFM, he said: “It’s like the crash happened in 2014, and we were in the Intensive Care Unit throughout 2015. And this year, we are in the normal ward, undergoing physiotherapy. We hope to be discharged from the hospital by the end of this year.”
He claimed that the company’s biggest problems had been solved.
Arul was interviewed on BFM’s Breakfast Grille show. Hosts Julian Ng and Ibrahim Sani turned up the heat several times, bombarding him with follow-up questions even before he finished answering the original questions.
Arul disagreed with reports that 1MDB was being investigated by several foreign agencies, saying that only the Swiss Auditor-General’s office had revealed that it was probing the company.
“1MDB has not been contacted by any other country or foreign agency,” he said.
He remarked that 1MDB was Malaysia’s “most investigated company” in the country’s history.
“Since I took over the leadership of the company in January 2015, I have been extensively engaging to clear the public’s doubts on the company, but its business has become political,” he said.
“Politicians with agendas have been taking facts and giving them twists to make them sexy. Facts are boring; so people tend to latch on to the juicy parts.”
He also dismissed allegations that the government had done nothing to address the problems faced by the company, citing the multi-agency probe into it.
He believes the company has emerged unscathed from the probes. “We are transparent, open and will remain available for any more probes.”
According to Arul, Prime Minister Najib Razak, who chairs 1MDB’s Board of Advisors, is not involved in running the company on a day-to-day basis.
One of the hosts likened 1MDB’s business model to that of a hedge fund company, mentioning its RM1 million capital and RM42 billion debt. Responding to this, Arul said, “It is a lesson learned that if debt is not managed properly it can cause problems. However, do note that 1MDB has never defaulted in repaying its debts. We have always paid our interests and principal.”
Arul disclosed that 1MDB intended to settle in full its RM2 billion debt with Tanjong, a company owned by T Ananda Krishnan, with cash acquired from its sale of Edra power assets to the China General Nuclear Power Corp.
He also claimed that Tabung Haji had gone through a proper tender process and offered a “good price” for the plot of land it acquired in the Tun Razak Exchange from 1MDB.
Asked how he felt about being at the helm of the company, Arul said he saw it as just another job.
“This is what I do,” he said. “I restructure. I came in and did just that, but I did not expect the investigations part and the political aspect. If you ask me whether I would do it again, yes, without a doubt.”