KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 4): A government backbencher wants "someone's head to roll" after two government-linked investment companies — Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) — incurred a combined RM43.9 million loss from their investment in e-commerce platform FashionValet.
During the debate on the Supply Bill 2025 in parliament on Monday, Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen (Pakatan Harapan-Bandar Kuching) questioned why no action had been taken against those responsible for the investment, despite Khazanah and PNB exiting the loss-making FashionValet in 2023.
"Someone's head must roll. We need accountability on these issues. If we look at Temasek Holdings (Singapore’s state-owned investment fund), those responsible for investment losses have had to step down," Yii said.
In a written parliamentary reply published on Oct 29, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said Khazanah invested RM27 million in FashionValet back in 2018 while PNB put in RM20 million. Both then exited after selling their combined stakes for only RM3.1 million in 2023 to NXBT Partners Sdn Bhd.
The two GLICs defended their investments in FasionValet after the news drew intense criticism, saying it was aligned with the government’s call at the time for GLICs to support high-potential Bumiputera companies in the new economy.
Yii urged the two GLICs to explain how they determined the investment amount in FashionValet, and whether there was any monitoring in place to safeguard the funds invested.
"While it is true that profit or loss is not the sole benchmark for investments, it is unacceptable to let them operate without oversight when it involves such a significant amount of public funds," Yii said.
Yii also called for reforms in GLICs and government-linked companies (GLCs), including a review of all investments made by these entities, and proposed that financial statements be presented to Parliament and the Parliamentary Select Committee for greater accountability.
Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (Perikatan Nasional-Masjid Tanah), meanwhile, slammed the MOF for trying to make Khazanah and PNB's losses seem minor relative to their overall earnings for the year.
"The ministry must keep in mind that over RM40 million could help hundreds of young entrepreneurs develop their businesses, making the finance ministry’s remarks improper," she noted.
Mas Ermieyati also called on Khazanah and PNB to clarify whether funds invested in FashionValet were used for top management’s emoluments, and to explain the role played by their representatives on the e-commerce platform’s board in overseeing the investment.
Read also:
MACC raids four business premises in FashionValet probe
Khazanah, PNB sold their RM47 mil stakes in FashionValet for just RM3.1 mil — MOF
Investment in FashionValet was to support 'high potential Bumiputera company', say PNB and Khazanah
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