Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak claimed that 1MDB has played an important role in resolving the woes caused by the lopsided electricity power industry agreements signed by a "former leader".

"1MDB, in fact, played a key role in solving the lopsided power agreements signed by a former leader," Najib wrote on his blog today.

Najib said that when he took over as prime minister, there were serious "structural and legacy issues", including lop-sided independent power plant (IPP) contracts and "rampant crony capitalism". 

Although he did not mention names, it was very clear that Najib was referring to the era of Dr Mahathir Mohamad's administration, which saw several IPP contracts being granted. 

"When 1MDB entered the industry, it was the lowest bidder in all its agreements, thus saving Malaysia RM200 billion over the next 20 years.

"One research house's report about the revised power agreements was simply titled 'No more sweetheart deals'," he added. 

Najib's 81-paragraph blog was published ahead of his Budget 2018 speech, which will be delivered this Friday.

Bandar Malaysia will bring more cheer

1MDB, through its subsidiary Edra, acquired power plants in Malaysia, Egypt, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh between 2012 and 2013, reportedly for around RM12 billion.

At the time, this made Edra one of the biggest power producers in the region.

After a failed IPO attempt in 2015, Edra was sold to China General Nuclear Power Corp (CGN Group) for RM9.83 billion.

Najib added that 1MDB had also built or improved eight military bases which "past governments were unable to do", as well as funded thousands of scholarships and haj trips for pilgrims.

"Now it is true that 1MDB has had its share of problems, and we long ago revamped the management to correct the mistakes and bring it back to financial health," he said.

He said once the Bandar Malaysia project is signed, 1MDB will make more profits and cover its loses.

"And the lie that the people have had to pay for 1MDB’s decisions will be nailed once and for all, as after the rationalisation programme is completed, it is very likely that 1MDB will have made a profit for the people – not to mention all the corporate social responsibility work it has done over the years," he said.

Read our KiniGuide: 1MDB's debt payment plan and how it doesn't add up.