Arul Kanda mulling legal action against Guan Eng

PETALING JAYA: Arul Kanda Kandasamy is considering taking legal action against Lim Guan Eng after the Finance Minister had called him "utterly dishonest and untrustworthy" following a meeting on Wednesday.
The 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) president said the statement issued by Lim did not fully and accurately represent how the questions were put and answered, accusing the latter of putting him in a bad light.
"The circumstances I was in and the context of my answers (during the meeting) were conveniently left out, such that it produces a false impression and put me in a bad light.
"More importantly, I strongly deny the potentially defamatory and personal attacks against me by the finance minister.
"Therefore, in my personal capacity, not in relation to my employment and specifically only in relation to his statement, I have sought legal advice from my lawyers to advise me on my options," he said.
Lim had in a statement two days ago slammed Arul of being "utterly dishonest and untrustworthy" at a meeting to discuss the government-owned company's financial affairs.
He had said that Arul's response to the questions posed on him was shocking and preposterous, accusing him of "singing a completely different tune" compared with statements he had made before the change of government.
Arul defended himself, saying he had answered truthfully and to best of his recollection, but without the benefit of having any supporting documents with him at the time of questioning.
"I answered all the questions as best I could, truthfully and to the best of my knowledge, based on my recollection of company records, my personal knowledge, and my recollection of information provided by officers in the company," he said.
Arul also pointed out that he had only joined 1MDB in January 2015, after the troubled state investment arm was amassed with debt burden under the previous management and boards, and that his focus had always been on the business rationalisation of the company.
"In short, I came in only after the occurrence of the alleged wrongdoings cited in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Auditor-General's reports on 1MDB, and the US Department of Justice (DoJ) civil suit," he said.