Cover image via MalaysiakiniDr. Abdul Samad Alias, the former 1MDB Advisory Board member, said he resigned from his post in the state-fund after his repeated requests for a briefing on the debt-ridden firm's state of affairs over a period of 6 months were ignored. The Chairman of Malaysia Deposit Insurance Corporation (PIDM) said this on 7 September at a National Conference on Governance, Risk and Control, held in KL.
Image via Chart Nexus
"I requested for a briefing on the company's profit and losses. **I waited for six months, but there were no briefings. I quit after that**."
Speaking at the Conference, Dr. Abdul Samad said he made the decision to quit from 1MDB's Advisory Board about 6 weeks ago. "On July 29, I submitted my letter of resignation."
It should be noted that Dr. Abdul Samad had been appointed to the 1MDB Advisory Board, which is chaired by PM Najib Razak, on 21 January this year. And the date of his resignation, 29 July, makes the whole duration of his stay, just over one week in addition to the time period, 6 months, he claims he requested and waited for a briefing on 1MDB's state of affairs. **Which means that since the date he came onboard, he was never actually briefed on the company's profits and losses even once**.
In a statement released at the time of his appointment, 1MDB Chairman Lodin Wok Kamaruddin had said the firm was proud of Dr Abdul Samad's entry as he was a much-respected individual in the Malaysian financial community, reported [TMI](http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/ex-1mdb-advisory-board-member-says-he-quit-after-requests-for-details-ignor).
In response to Dr. Abdul Samad's claims, 1MDB has expressed regret but said that the board respects Dr. Abdul Samad's decision to resign and wishes him all the best in his future endeavours
A day later, on 8 September, 1MDB said that contrary to what Dr. Abdul Samad claimed, the board did not ignore his 'repeated requests' as the former 1MDB Advisory Board member was indeed briefed about the state fund's affairs on at least two occasions
Image via The Malay Mail Online
The board also said that it did not receive any requests from him
In an attempt to clear the air, 1MDB said it will seek a meeting with Dr. Abdul Samad even though he was no longer an adviser
Amidst all this, reputable corporate figure Nazir Razak, who is the brother of PM Najib Razak, has questioned what signal was being sent to government-linked companies (GLC) and agencies when state-owned 1MDB could deny information to its own adviser
"Respected, honest, professional appointed by the Govt and welcomed by the Chairman with fanfare. But denied access to information by management. If this is true and tolerated, what message does it send to other GLC's/agencies?" asked the CIMB Group chairman in his Instagram account, Tuesday.
To which, the finance ministry-owned company said they "regret to note" Nazir's statement on the issue, saying that third parties "who have no direct knowledge of the facts" are issuing "speculative opinions" based on Dr. Abdul Samad's statements on 7 September
Meanwhile, weighing on the whole issue, Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching raised a very pertinent question, saying the fact that when 1MDB's own Advisory Board member cannot get information from the state-owned fund, it does not bode well for ordinary Malaysians concerned about the finance ministry-owned firm's huge debt
Image via TRP
