Politics · Malaysia Bureau
PM Acknowledges KWAP eFishery Loss From Chasing Global Trends
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has admitted that the government's pension fund's investment in eFishery failed due to blindly following international trends. The government has pledged to strengthen investment oversight and due diligence procedures.
LSN Malaysia ·
Parliament heard today that the Employee Provident Fund (KWAP) investment in the Indonesian aquaculture startup eFishery resulted in significant losses after the scheme was pursued without sufficient scrutiny of underlying fundamentals.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim acknowledged in Parliament that the investment decision reflected a tendency to emulate global investment fashions rather than conducting rigorous, independent analysis. The admission comes as questions mount over governance and risk management at Malaysia's sovereign wealth and pension institutions.
Addressing lawmakers' concerns, Anwar assured the chamber that the government intends to implement tighter controls over major investment commitments. The measures are expected to include enhanced due diligence requirements, stricter approval processes, and improved oversight mechanisms to prevent similar lapses in the future.
The eFishery investment has become a focal point for scrutiny over institutional decision-making at KWAP, which manages retirement savings for Malaysia's civil servants. Officials did not disclose the exact scale of losses incurred from the venture.
The government's commitment to revised investment protocols signals an effort to restore confidence in the management of public pension assets following the high-profile setback.