Beginning his press conference after the signing ceremony for Bandar Malaysia with a caution against any unrelated questions, he then proceeded to talk only about the land sale.
When interjected with questions relating to alleged 1MDB scandals, Arul reiterated each time that another press conference dealing specifically on the subject would be held at a later date.
However, one question was later posed to Arul about his thoughts on the slew of allegations by WSJ directed at the national sovereign fund.
“I’m sorry, we are talking about Bandar Malaysia now. Good try though.”
WSJ had in recent months, published several reports alleging that among others, RM2.6 billion of 1MDB funds had been transferred into Prime Minister Najib Razak’s personal bank accounts. This was later refuted by Najib who said that the money was a donation made by an unnamed Middle Eastern donor.
Earlier this month, WSJ came out with yet another exposé, alleging that a 1MDB unit had sent at least USD850 million (RM3.7 billion) to an offshore entity allegedly controlled by Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC).