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Revoke circular prohibiting support letters, says delegate

An Umno delegate wants a government circular which prohibits government officials and politicians from giving out letters of support for projects and contracts be cancelled.

Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin said the circular should be done away with because Umno, as the ruling party in the federal Barisan Nasional government, should be in control.

This was to convince the Malays that Umno was the only entity that can take care of their interests, he said.

"Please reconsider, I am asking those at the top to cancel this circular immediately or else the party will not control the government," he said when debating on Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak's policy speech at the Umno general assembly today.

"If we don't control the government, the Malays will question why they should support us and they will end up supporting other parties."

The Padang Besar MP claimed that civil servants who issued support letters were issued show-cause letters.

In citing his experience as a example, he said he tried to help a Bumi entrepreneur who went to him to seek support for a contract with Tenaga Nasional Berhad in Penang.

The entrepreneur had a support letter from a minister and Zahidi Zainul forwarded it to the government-linked company's corporate office.

"Turns out at night, it (the contract) was stolen, it was given to a non-Bumiputera company without any licence," he said.

His remarks came as the opposition turns the heat on Putrajaya for issuing a letter of support to state sovereign fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), which has racked up RM38 billion debts.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan had said the letter of support for 1MDB was not an explicit guarantee.

The only explicit guarantee was for 1MDB's RM5.8 billion sukuk bond, he had said.

Critics have long questioned the fund's heavy debts, its use of money and its opaque operations. Among its staunchest critics is former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who had called on Putrajaya to explain how the fund had benefitted Malaysians.

Dr Mahathir had said there was no need for 1MDB as it only served to add on to the country's debt.

"1MDB is said to be a sovereign wealth fund, but it is not. It is money that we have borrowed. When we borrow, we have to pay back. This is not wealth.

"In my opinion, even if there is no 1MDB, it would be fine,” Dr Mahathir was quoted as saying in news reports when he was asked whether the fund should be shut down.

However, 1MDB chairman Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin said its assets stood at RM51.4 billion, about RM2.5 billion more than its liabilities of RM48.9 billion as of March 31, 2014.

He also denied that its acquisition of energy assets was overpriced, adding that its real estate investments, including the 70ha financial hub Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) and Bandar Malaysia, would be profitable in four years. – November 27, 2014.