KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10): 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) has denied former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's claim that its foundation's Special Haj Programme was funded through stolen money. "On the contrary, 1MDB has legitimate business operations, formerly in energy production and more recently, in real estate development." Funds generated from these business operations are contributed to 1MDB Foundation, which then uses such funds to sponsor the Special Haj Programme, it added. Mahathir, who is chairman of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, recently claimed that haj performed through the 1MDB Foundation sponsorship would not be "haji mabrur", or divinely accepted haj. The fund said 1MDB Foundation also supports other programmes such as the Program SPM Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (Public Service Department), which is currently sponsoring over 600 Malaysian scholars of all races.

Source: The Edge Markets January 10, 2017 08:01 UTC