The irrational arguments regarding 1MDB
Salleh Said Keruak
I have noticed a number of comments regarding 1MDB vis-à-vis the Forex losses of 1992-1994, the main comment being that we are not comparing apples to apples.
The main argument is that in the RM30 billion Forex losses we know what happened and there is no mystery, even though today RM30 billion would be worth RM58 billion. In the 1MDB RM42 billion losses we do not know what happened and it is still a mystery.
First of all, it is yet to be determined as to what the 1MDB losses are, if in the first place there are indeed any losses. This is yet to be determined and we will only know once PAC and the auditors complete their investigations and come out with their reports.
We must remember that RM42 billion is 1MDB’s exposure, not losses, just like in the Forex matter the exposure was RM270 billion and the losses RM30 billion. So we must understand the difference between exposure and loss.
Secondly, are they saying that if 1MDB did indeed lose money but then if we can explain how and why it lost money then it would be acceptable since it is no longer a mystery?
