Accused of misleading Parliament, Ahmad Maslan says sorry for 1MDB support letter slip-up

(Malay Mail Online) – Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan was forced to apologise to the Dewan Rakyat today for having left out “six words” during his winding speech in Parliament two weeks ago over a controversial letter of support for 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

In responding to a motion to refer him to the Parliament’s rights and privileges committee, Ahmad said he did not intend to mislead the House when he said on November 6 that there was no other sovereign guarantee or letter of support to the Putrajaya-backed investment arm.

“I accept my mistake of having left out six words that there is no other guarantee letter,” said Ahmad.

During his winding up speech on Budget 2015, Ahmad had insisted that there were “no other letter support” apart from an explicit guarantee of only RM5.8 billion of the sovereign fund’s loans.

Ahmad had also denied the existence of Putrajaya’s letter of support for 1MDB arranged by US-based investment banker Goldman Sach’s International to raise US$3 billion (RM10.02 billion) in bonds last year.

On November 8, in a press conference in Parliament, the deputy minister, however, said he meant to state that the letter of support does not tantamount to an explicit guarantee.