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'1MDB nationwide engagements receive positive response'

1 Malaysia Development Bhd’s (1MDB) nationwide engagements with the people has received positive response through its ongoing events.

President and chief executive officer (CEO) Arul Kanda said the events, where he was invited to speak, was part of a pro-people campaign to explain and clarify issues surrounding the company as ultimately all Malaysians are the stakeholders.

“What started as a trickle of requests for me to participate in these engagements has become a ‘tsunami’ in the last six months as the opposition ramped up a campaign of misleading and malicious misinformation,” he told the Straits Times on Monday.

Arul had previously emphasised that government critics and opposition politicians were politicising what was essentially a business matter to topple a democratically-elected government.

Over the past six weeks, he has appeared before nearly 30,000 people from all walks of life, traversing the country to explain and dispel allegations of fraud within the company.

Arul said typically, the audience in remote outposts like Benta (Pahang) and Pasir Puteh (Kelantan), would grill him for over two hours.

“You would be surprised. Uncles and aunties would be asking, ‘Can the company actually repay its debts, where are the sources of the money?’ which really shows quite a deep understanding of the matter.

“If they are not satisfied, they typically ask a follow-up question,” he added.

Arul Kanda was clear that he was not defending anyone and described his job, as a CEO, was to explain the company’s point of view.

"We are letting the people get the information and opening ourselves up in public forums for anyone to attend to ask questions.

“Ultimately, the people have to decide what to do with these facts and make up their own minds,” he said.

To date, 25 nationwide engagements have been completed with a dozen more to go over the next couple of weeks. - Bernama

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