Amanah Raya must conduct audit into accumulated losses, says PAC

KUALA LUMPUR: Amanah Raya Bhd (ARB) must conduct an audit on its accumulated losses, especially related to the 56 units of properties in the investment project at Keppel Bay, Singapore, says the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

PAC chairman Wong Kah Woh said the investment performance of Kumpulan Wang Bersama funds by ARB was not encouraging and had contributed to KWB's accumulated losses in 2019 of RM1.023bil.

"Among them, ARB recorded a loss of RM114.3mil in the investment of 56 units of properties in a development project at Keppel Bay Singapore where the Gross Development Value (GDV) was insufficient to cover the cost of the investment," he said.

Wong said this in a statement issued following a PAC proceeding touching on the issue in Parliament Tuesday (Oct 12).

On Dec 10, 2020, the Auditor-General's Report 2019 Series 1 found that ARB’s fund management was found to be inefficient as the fund had experienced a deficit from 2008 to 2019.

However, it noted that ARB had been making efforts towards the recovery of the KWB fund starting from 2019.

Wong also pointed that there was no document to prove due diligence or a feasibility study being implemented before the investment in Singapore was made.

"ARB has also been found to be negligent in carrying out its investment decision-making process by estimating that the GDV was more than the market price," said Wong.

He noted that ARB must come up with a comprehensive investment policy in order to maximise its investment impact in line with the objective of its formation.

"Investment committees must assist the investment experts and be fully responsible to the board members in line with the interests of the organisation," said Wong.