Pua told the Dewan Rakyat today that several of Najib’s claims could be seen as an insult to the MPs.
“Specifically … that not a single sen of public funds was used to repay the 1MDB principal amount. That is not true, as the government had repaid RM8.8 billion in principal and interest when he was the finance minister,” he said.
Pua said the motion to refer Najib to the committee had been sent to the office of Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Harun.
Deputy Speaker Rashid Hasnon said Azhar would consider the motion and provide an answer later.
Earlier today, finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz told the House that Najib’s claim that the government had not repaid the principal amount was “baseless” as the bond had yet to mature then.
In response to a question by Lim Guan Eng (PH-Bagan), Tengku Zafrul said the government’s remaining commitment stood between RM38.5 billion and RM38.8 billion, with RM32.3 billion in principal and RM6.5 billion in interest.
Pua also listed three other issues which he felt Najib had misled the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, including his claim that 1MDB helped save the government RM50 billion when it took over the settlement of “one-sided agreements” with independent power producers (IPPs).
“That’s not true as 1MDB took over these IPPs at an inflated price, which caused billions in losses. 1MDB lost RM50 billion. They didn’t make RM50 billion. That’s a figment of his imagination,” he said.
Pua also noted how Najib said this RM50 billion savings was one of the reasons Petronas’ cash reserves rose from RM30 billion to RM176 billion in 2018.
“Petronas’ reserves have nothing to do with any IPPs. Whether they are taken over by 1MDB or not, Petronas’ reserves are their own,” he said.
He also said it was not true that Bandar Malaysia was worth RM140 billion as claimed by Najib yesterday, stating that the amount was the gross development value and the land was worth RM9 to RM12 billion.
Pua said that as a former finance minister, Najib should know the facts, but that he was purposely trying to mislead the Dewan Rakyat. He said this was insulting to the Dewan Rakyat and that Najib was attempting to save himself on the political stage.
Lim then added that Tengku Zafrul had refuted Najib’s allegation that not a single sen of public funds was used to repay the 1MDB principal amount, stressing that “there is no excuse” not to refer Najib to the committee.
“I don’t want to mention that he has been found guilty (in court) and sentenced to 12 years’ jail and a RM210 million fine… but in this august hall, don’t lie and deceive.”
Later, at a press conference, Pua said he hoped Azhar could make a fair decision on the motion against Najib.
“We hope that the speaker can refer him (Najib) to the committee so he will have a chance to respond,” he said.
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