The Finance Ministry clarified that it amended a written reply in Parliament over 1Malaysia Development Bhd to "avoid confusion".
The clarification comes after former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad accused Finance Minister and PM Najib Abdul Razak of being a "liar" over the matter.
"The Finance Ministry amended the original written reply issued on March 10 to avoid confusion on the financial position of 1Malaysia Development Bhd at BSI Singapore in accordance with Parliamen requirements.
"There was absolutely no intention to mislead or lie about the matter, thus the claim by Mahathir that Najib had lied is unreasonable," it said in a statement late today.
It added that written replies in Parliament are based on information provided by state agencies, which are checked by ministry officers.
"We have taken measures so this situation does not recur," it said.
The March 10 written reply said the US$1.103 bil (RM3.6 bil) held were held in the Singapore bank in the form of cash, but later clarified it was in the form of assets.
Finance Minister II Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said it was in the form of "savings in units", but did not elaborate what this meant other than to say it is backed by sovereign weath funds.
1MDB repartriated the assets now held in BSI Singapore were repartriated from the Cayman Islands, following public pressure.
The government earlier said they are held in Singapore for "ease of transaction".
Mahathir on Sunday accused Najib of lying and noted that it is a crime for a public servant to not tell the truth.
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