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KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 20): Existing laws governing Malaysia's financial and enforcement agencies are adequate to tackle corporate crime, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday, stressing that effective enforcement depends on clear leadership direction and political will.
Laws governing Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM), the Inland Revenue Board and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) are considered sufficient to tackle current challenges, he told Parliament.
Responding to a supplementary question from Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun (Pakatan Harapan-Port Dickson), Anwar said the SC, BNM and the MACC maintained ties with international bodies to facilitate cooperation in cases involving cross-border financial crimes.
Malaysia has also received strong recognition during its mutual evaluation last year at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), particularly for BNM and the country's efforts to recover siphoned funds, he said. The FATF is an intergovernmental body that acts as a global watchdog for money laundering and terrorism financing.
However, Anwar said the country inherited a system that lacked transparency, and pointed to several major corporate transactions dating back to the 1980s and 1990s that had persistently raised questions about the influence of politically connected individuals.
He highlighted three examples of past corporate dealings that warranted scrutiny:
- The 1999 takeover of Multi-Purpose Holdings Bhd. It was acquired by a group led by Singaporean businessman Akbar Khan. The deal came amid allegations that the company's controlling shareholder, Lim Thian Kiat, was pressured to sell his stake.
- The restructuring of RHB Bank. Founder Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Hussain was widely perceived to have come under political and regulatory pressure to relinquish his stake in the bank following the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis. This came amid the government-led banking consolidation and increasing difficulties in securing key approvals to restructure the group's heavy debt load.
- The sale of Phileo Allied Bank to Maybank in 2001. Founder Tan Sri Tong Kooi Ong was also widely perceived to have faced intense political pressure to exit the group, which Anwar described as "one of the country's fastest-growing bank" at the time, amid the post-crisis banking consolidation. The bank was subsequently absorbed by Maybank in what critics viewed as a forced divestment.
Anwar said these cases were all linked to the then finance minister, whom he did not name, "who wielded considerable influence and had substantial financial resources". The finance minister at the time was the late Tun Daim Zainuddin, who was behind the forced banking consolidation post-Asian Financial Crisis.
These cases underscored the need for institutions such as BNM, the SC, the MACC and the PDRM to discharge their responsibilities transparently and accountably, he added.
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