Prime Minister Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim has thrown his support behind a full Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigation into the Retirement Fund Incorporated's (KWAP) RM163.4 million investment in Indonesian aquaculture technology startup eFishery, stressing that while preliminary findings have not uncovered wrongdoing, accountability and transparency must prevail.
Speaking in the Dewan Negara, Anwar said early reports did not point to corruption or abuse in the investment decision. However, he maintained that the authorities must thoroughly investigate whether there had been negligence, breaches of the law or any corrupt practices.
He said full cooperation and support must be given to MACC to examine whether there was any negligence, breach of the law or element of corruption.
The prime minister explained that KWAP's investment proposal had gone through the required due diligence and feasibility studies before being evaluated by the fund's investment panel and approved by its board of directors. He stressed that the investment panel consisted of professionals and that its decisions were made independently, without requiring approval from the Ministry of Finance.
Anwar also noted that KWAP was not the only victim. According to him, several globally renowned institutional investors were similarly deceived by what he described as a sophisticated and well-organised fraud orchestrated by eFishery's management.
He said the case demonstrated that even experienced international investors and top audit firms could be misled by elaborate financial manipulation, drawing parallels with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, where major international financial institutions also failed to detect wrongdoing at an early stage.
Nevertheless, Anwar acknowledged that the incident should serve as an important lesson for Malaysia's investment institutions. He cautioned against relying solely on the reputation of international investors, auditors or external assessments when making investment decisions.
Despite the setback, Anwar urged the public to view the matter in the broader context of KWAP's overall financial performance, noting that the pension fund recorded more than RM12 billion in net income. However, he insisted that any evidence of corruption, misconduct or abuse uncovered during investigations must be dealt with firmly.
Meanwhile, MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Abd Halim Aman confirmed that the anti-graft agency has officially launched an investigation into the investment.
He said a special investigation team had been formed at MACC headquarters to conduct a comprehensive and impartial review of the matter in accordance with the law.
Abd Halim also urged the public to refrain from speculation that could interfere with the investigation or create unnecessary confusion.
The Finance Ministry had earlier confirmed in Parliament that KWAP was among a consortium of investors allegedly deceived after eFishery's management manipulated the company's financial statements. Legal proceedings are currently underway to recover the funds.
KWAP has since clarified that its actual investment amounted to RM163.4 million, not RM200 million as previously reported. The investment represented only about 2.51 per cent of eFishery's shareholding, making KWAP a minority investor alongside several major international institutions.
The pension fund said it had already initiated an internal review covering its investment processes, post-investment monitoring framework and governance procedures while pursuing all available avenues to recover the investment.
Senior political adviser to the prime minister, Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, also defended KWAP's investment process, noting that globally respected investors including Temasek, SoftBank, Northstar and Abu Dhabi-based 42X Fund had invested in eFishery under the same financial information later found to have been falsified.
He stressed that the fraud was sophisticated enough to deceive experienced international investors and argued that the RM163.4 million investment represented less than one per cent of KWAP's 2024 investment income and below 0.1 per cent of its approximately RM195 billion assets under management.
Tengku Zafrul also dismissed claims that the investment threatened civil servants' pensions, explaining that KWAP operates differently from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), as the government remains responsible for pension payments.
Nevertheless, he agreed that the size of the investment did not diminish the need for accountability.
Zafrul said RM163.4 million is still public money. Every sen that can be recovered must be pursued. If there was negligence, those responsible must be held accountable.
Calls for greater accountability have also come from civil society.
Social activist Voon Shiak Ni questioned whether sufficient due diligence had been exercised by KWAP and whether governance procedures were properly followed before the investment was approved.
She argued that while Anwar's explanation addressed the investment process, Malaysians also deserved answers regarding legal, administrative and political accountability if weaknesses in governance or negligence were eventually uncovered.
With MACC's investigation now underway, attention will turn to whether the losses resulted solely from an elaborate international fraud or whether any failures within Malaysia's own governance and investment oversight contributed to the costly setback.
The investigation is expected to play a crucial role in restoring public confidence while reinforcing the importance of transparency and accountability in the management of public funds.
By: Kpost
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