KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim hopes legislation to strengthen oversight of government-owned entities can be passed by the end of this year, following concerns over questionable investments and financial losses highlighted in the Tabung Haji Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report.
He said the proposed Government-Owned Entities Bill was being prepared to strengthen financial governance and introduce stricter regulations for government agencies and companies entrusted with managing public funds.
“We are preparing and, insya-Allah, will table the Government-Owned Entities Bill to strengthen oversight and ensure that regulations are more comprehensive.
“We have entrusted these agencies with responsibilities and expected them to carry out their duties, but the breaches have been so serious that the losses involved are not small. They run into billions of ringgit.
“Hopefully, we can pass it this year so that all government agencies will be subjected to stricter regulations,” he told the Dewan Rakyat today.
Anwar was responding to a supplementary question from Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha Mustafa (PH-Sekijang) during Prime Minister’s Question Time.
Zaliha had asked about measures to tighten financial procedures, particularly those governing the approval of large-scale investments by government-linked companies (GLCs) and government-linked investment companies (GLICs).
Citing findings from the Tabung Haji RCI, she said Urusharta Jamaah Sdn Bhd (UJSB), a special-purpose vehicle established to manage the pilgrimage fund’s troubled assets, had taken over approximately 283.71 million FGV Holdings shares at RM4.62 each, valued at about RM1.31 billion.
However, the shares were subsequently repurchased by FELDA at RM1.30 each, for a total of approximately RM368.8 million.
She said the transactions represented a difference of about RM942 million from the earlier valuation, raising concerns about investment decisions and the management of public funds.
Anwar acknowledged that governance weaknesses had resulted in substantial losses, stressing that tighter controls were needed to prevent similar problems from recurring.
In a separate supplementary question, concerns were raised over Retirement Fund Incorporated’s (KWAP) RM163.4 million investment in Indonesian aquaculture company eFishery, particularly regarding the adequacy of its due diligence procedures.
Anwar said KWAP had established procedures involving investment assessments and committee reviews before proposals were presented to its board.
However, he acknowledged serious shortcomings in the eFishery investment, saying the decision had been influenced by the participation of major international investors.
“They simply followed international trends because major companies in Europe and elsewhere had invested, so they felt that was sufficient.
“I believe this was a serious weakness in the process,” he said.
Anwar said there had also been considerable reliance on the involvement of Japan’s SoftBank.
“They relied on SoftBank, thinking that SoftBank could not possibly invest so carelessly. But that was the reality.
“The weakness is something we must acknowledge,” he added.
The proposed legislation was announced under Budget 2027 on Oct 9 as part of efforts to strengthen governance at government-owned companies and statutory bodies, following financial controversies involving 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), Tabung Haji and FELDA.