KUALA LUMPUR: 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) president Arul Kanda Kandasamy took a swipe at the opposition for not attending his talk in Subang Jaya last night.
He told Barisan Nasional's official 14th General Election (GE14) portal, theRakyat that the session was held openly, on "the opposition's turf", to answer questions about the company.
He said that his presence in Subang Jaya, a known opposition stronghold, was done based on the principle of 'berani kerana benar' (courage for truth) and was not politically motivated.
"I am upset tonight because opposition leaders who have been very critical of 1MDB, like Hannah Yeoh (Subang Jaya state assemblyman) did not show up. Why didn't you come here, at your own turf?
"It seems that they are not open in finding the truth about 1MDB. These 'ceramah' (talks) are being organised by non-governmental organisations, not some political parties. I am not a politician. I have the responsibility, as a chief executive of a government-owned company, to explain to the people about it (the company)," he said.
Arul was met by theRakyat after the ‘Bicara Subang’ talk organised by Kelab Sahabat N87 in USJ15 last night.
He added that similar talk will be held in Ampangan, Negri Sembilan on Wednesday followed by another session in Section 16, Shah Alam on April 28.
As for the audience acceptance of his talk or 'explanation session', Arul said he is relieved that people were willing to listen to his explanation on 1MDB with an open heart.
”At times, at the start of a session, there were many angry faces, some even looked like they are going to hit me, but eventually, at the end of it (talk), they will come by to tak 'selfie' and such.
"This makes it less 'stressful' because everyone can interact with one another."
Meanwhile, on 1MDB future, Arul told the Rakyat that the company's problem arises due to it being politicised by certain party with vested interest.
He described it as "a business problem that has been politicised."
Nonetheless, he said the rationalisation plan for 1MDB has been successful.
"Now, we can see that the TRX building (Tun Razak Exchange) is going up, with investment from HSBC, Prudential and others, proving that 1MDB-related projects have gained confidence from the international investors.
”Insha Allah, if the projects are being run well, the gain will be more than enough to pay back all the long term debt of the company." he was quoted as saying.