Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 27) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the embezzlement scandal that plagued the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) won’t deter Malaysian business entities from investing in the Philippines’ new sovereign wealth fund.
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\”Their [Malaysian business leaders] experience here is not going to be a detriment. In fact, it is a way for them to–they are the most careful of all. Hindi mag-iinvest ‘yan pag nakita nila nako patay ako dito doon sa naging problema dito [They won’t invest if they see that they are at risk of facing the same problem they did with 1MDB],\” Marcos told reporters during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.
1MDB was created in 2009, shortly after Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Rajak took power. In 2015, British journalist Clare Rewcastle-Brown leaked documents on 1MDB, exposing that the fund had been used by Razak’s administration to embezzle billions of dollars worth of public funds.
The former PM has been found guilty of abuse of power, money laundering, and criminal breach of trust, among others, in relation to the 1MDB scandal.
READ: Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak found guilty on seven charges related to 1MDB scandal
Marcos explained that Malaysian investors had learned the lessons from what happened with 1MDB, and would make it a point to avoid \”falling into the same situation.\”
\”If you remember, I am consistently saying it is going to be run professionally and without undue political influence,\” the president said, adding that while there would be government representatives on the board, the day-to-day decisions as to what investments to make would be left with the financial managers.
READ: Sovereign wealth fund to be free from politics – Marcos
Marcos added that investors had already expressed interest in the fund.
\”Lahat naman nag-express ng interest because negosyo ‘yan eh [All of them expressed interest because that’s business]. Now there’s a new fund, now can we enter?” he said.
