Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has officially resigned as chairman of the board of directors of Khazanah Nasional Bhd. — Reuters file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak officially resigned today as Chairman of the Board of Directors for sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd.

In a short statement, Khazanah said today there were some changes to the board of directors.

Former Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani also resigned as a member of the board yesterday, while former Secretary-General to the Treasury,Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah stepped down as a board member on May 23.

The sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional has been mired with some controversy of late; after news reports claimed that the previous Barisan Nasional government used the RM3 billion it raised via a share issue to service 1Malaysia Development Bhd’s (1MDB) debts.

The firm noted that the shares were issued to the Finance Ministry, which was headed by then by Najib himself.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has confirmed this, saying on May 22 that the sources for the debt payments included redemption of Redeemable Cumulative Convertible Preference Shares (RCCPS) by Khazanah Nasional Bhd amounting to RM1.199 billion and the sale of a piece of land to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) amounting to RM2.066 billion.