Why does 1MDB need to borrow money ?

1MDB needs to borrow money because it needs to use the borrowed money to repay the money it borrowed before, so, it is a never ending cycle.

1MDB needs to operate or survive on borrowed money because its business activity does not generate enough cash to service its loan.

1MDB wakes up at the wrong side of the bed at the very beginning because it is a sovereign fund and a sovereign fund does not do business but invest to earn good enough return or interest to protect its fund against inflationary loss.

The difference between a true sovereign fund and 1MDB is that a true sovereign fund uses its own money to invest and 1MDB uses borrowed money to invest.

Whoever starts 1MDB has absolutely no knowledge about business and investing at the very first place and just chooses to exercise his power to create a experimental pet project for fun, but, unfortunately this particular pet grows to become a monster under amateurs' care.