Crazy Rich Asian actress Michelle Yeoh made headlines and raised eyebrows when she announced her decision to co-produce a movie based on the 1MDB affair, which is Malaysia's biggest scandal to date.

The script will apparently be based on the book Billion Dollar Whale by Bradley Hope and Tom Wright, which charts the alleged shady dealings of financier and fugitive Jho Low in connection to the 1MDB scandal.

The international bank and financial services company Goldman Sachs also features quite prominently in its pages, due to the alleged involvement of banker Tim Leissner.

O$P$

Now the man tipped to become Malaysia's next Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, wants Goldman Sachs to pay what he feels is owed to the country.

In an interview with the Financial Times on Nov. 27, Anwar said that Goldman Sachs' actions were "disgusting".

He said: "For them to use a country like Malaysia — which is struggling to reform itself economically, moving up the ladder — really, to me, it’s disgusting."

The bank was paid US$600 million for arranging three bond sales for 1MDB.

However, it denies knowledge of a bribery and embezzlement scheme alleged by United States prosecutors that saw US$2.7 billion raided from Malaysia's state fund.

The 1MDB scandal allegedly led to as much as US$4.5 billion misappropriated from the state fund in total.

Anwar said Goldman Sachs should return more than the US$600 million in fees to Malaysia: "It’s a cost to the image of the country, it’s a cost to investments and now it’s a burden shouldered by the government because of the complicity of so many of these so-called credible, renowned financial institutions."

Goldman Sachs declined to respond to Anwar's remarks.

Paying off debt

Malaysia's Pakatan Harapan government is trying to reduce the federal deficit and debts owed by the government.

On Nov. 2, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng announced that the fiscal deficit would hit a higher-than-expected level of 3.7 percent.

Previously in September 2018, Malaysia suspended construction of the High Speed Rail to Singapore, citing excessive costs and the need to pay off government debt.

While the US Department of Justice has indicted two former Goldman Sachs bankers, Leissner and Roger Ng, Anwar said that these actions were taken under US law.

It does not stop Malaysia for negotiating directly with the bank for offences committed in Malaysia.

Anwar called for "aggressive negotiations" with Goldman Sachs, though he stopped short of calling for penalties and restrictions to be imposed on the bank that would stop them from operating.

He said: "We want them to give their fullest co-operation in assisting the probe."

Top image from Anwar Ibrahim's Facebook page