“Lim claimed that the lease payments were just normal operating expenses and not debt and should not be included in the state debt calculations,” he said in a statement here yesterday. The war of words between Lim and Najib triggered after Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced that the national debt figure now stood at RM1 trillion. Lim then said that the RM1 trillion debt included total government debt, government guarantees and lease payments for public-private partnerships (PPP). In a two paragraph statement, Najib said in this limited context, he also did not see any benefit in engaging in a public discourse with Lim on the issues. On Sunday, Lim said that Najib, who is also former Finance Minister, must be held responsible and accountable for the 1MDB scandal.

Source: The Star May 28, 2018 21:56 UTC