Mara Inc to ensure no recurrence of loss as pointed out in AG Report, says Zahid

PASIR MAS: The Rural and Regional Development Ministry will resolve the RM286.30mil loss of Mara Incorporated Sdn Bhd highlighted in the Auditor-General's Report and ensure it does not recur, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also Rural and Regional Development Minister, said that although the process of recovering these losses will take some time, he will ensure there is no breach of trust, misappropriation or abuse of power within Mara's subsidiaries.

"The losses of Mara Inc have been occurring since 2012, and I will find ways to resolve this issue now to prevent it from recurring.

"We are not looking to place blame, but the reported losses were due to bad investments and excessive investments because several assets purchased abroad exceeded market prices," he told reporters after officiating the Madani 1.0 Youth Career and Sports Carnival at Sekolah Kebangsaan Sultan Ibrahim 1, here on Saturday (July 6).

On Friday (July 6), Mara Director-General Datuk Seri Azhar Abdul Manaf said the accumulated losses from 2012 to 2022 partly involved the purchase of assets abroad, particularly in Australia and the United Kingdom between 2012 and 2014.

According to the Auditor-General's Report Series 2/2024 tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (July 4), the total accumulated losses borne by Mara Inc decreased by 3.8% from RM297.63mil in 2021 to RM286.30mil in 2022.

This reduction was contributed by the improved financial performance of the group, which recorded a pre-tax profit of RM11.67mil for the year 2022. - Bernama