A DAP lawmaker has dismissed a call by PAS Youth for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to step down over the controversy involving the Retirement Fund Incorporated’s (KWAP) investment loss in Indonesian aquaculture technology company eFishery.
Kampar MP Chong Zhemin said the issue should be investigated thoroughly but warned against turning the corporate fraud case into a political matter by demanding the Prime Minister’s resignation without evidence of wrongdoing.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is currently investigating the RM163.4 million loss suffered by KWAP after eFishery was found to have manipulated financial records and inflated its revenue by US$600 million.
In April, eFishery co-founder and former chief executive officer Gibran Huzaifah was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment after being convicted of embezzlement and money laundering.
Chong said every investment involving public funds must be properly protected, but argued that calls for Anwar to resign were unjustified unless there was proof of political interference, corruption or personal misconduct.
“The loss is serious and must be thoroughly investigated. Every ringgit entrusted to KWAP must be protected,” he said.
He also challenged PAS Youth chief Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden to provide evidence if there were allegations that Anwar had personally directed the investment, interfered in the due diligence process, benefited from the investment or obstructed investigations.
Chong added that several major international investors, including Temasek, SoftBank, Northstar, 42XFund and 500 Global, had also invested in eFishery, indicating that the fraud had affected multiple experienced institutional investors.
However, he stressed that the situation did not remove KWAP’s responsibility to review and improve its investment procedures.
Chong said Anwar had supported the MACC investigation and instructed KWAP to give full cooperation, while the fund had also reviewed its investment processes, strengthened its private market investment framework and taken steps to recover the lost funds.
He said the focus should remain on uncovering the facts, recovering the investment, improving safeguards and ensuring those responsible for the alleged fraud face appropriate action instead of using the issue as a political tool.
