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He said the missed payment, which was due on Tuesday, was not
expected to affect investor confidence in Malaysia's economy.
"It is only a technical matter, and not a question of not being
able to pay back," he said in parliament during question time.
Najib, who set up the fund in 2009 to promote economic
development, has resisted demands to step down over the last two
years following reports that more than $700 million was
deposited in his personal bank account.
Najib has denied any wrongdoing. The fund is the subject of
money laundering investigations in at least six countries. In
civil lawsuits, the U.S. Justice Department alleged that about
$4.5 billion has been misappropriated from 1MDB.
Malaysian Second Finance Minister Johari Abdul Ghani was quoted
by national newswire Bernama as saying on Wednesday that the
missed payment would be handled by 1MDB and not the government.
Abu Dhabi's Mubadala said in a statement that 1MDB and the
Malaysian finance ministry had five days to resolve the
non-payment to its unit, International Petroleum Investment
Company (IPIC).
1MDB said in a separate statement that it was committed to
meeting its obligation to IPIC in August. It did not specify a
date.
(Reporting by Joseph Sipalan; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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