KUALA LUMPUR: Existing laws are sufficient to combat corporate crime, but enforcement agencies require decisive leadership and political will to act, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told the Dewan Rakyat.
He said statutory powers administered by Bank Negara, the Securities Commission, the Inland Revenue Board, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the police are adequate to address modern financial crimes.
The administration, he said, had inherited a system that lacked transparency, citing several major corporate transactions in the past which he said, raised questions about the influence of politically connected interests.
“Members of Parliament who have followed developments in the 1980s and 1990s would know,” he said.
Highlighting specific examples, Anwar cited Multi-Purpose Holdings Bhd, which he said former owner Lim Thian Kiat was coerced into selling to a syndicate led by Singaporean businessman Akbar Khan and former Renong Bhd director Chan Chin Cheung.
Anwar linked the deal to a former finance minister.
He further cited RHB Bank, noting that its founder, Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Hussain, was similarly pressured into relinquishing his stake during the era.
He also referred to Phileo Allied Bank, describing it as among the country’s rapidly growing banks at the time.
The bank, he said, was affected by a banking consolidation exercise directed by the then finance minister, adding that it was later released because of the former minister’s interests in Langkah Bahagia Sdn Bhd, which subsequently took ownership.
“This experience should teach us that bodies entrusted with these responsibilities must act transparently and accountably,” he said in reply to Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun (PH-Port Dickson) in the Dewan Rakyat.
Aminuddin had sought an update on alleged corporate mafia activities involving legal violations and the enforcement action taken.
He said Malaysian enforcement agencies, including the SC, Bank Negara and the MACC, worked with international bodies in cases involving cross-border financial crimes.
Malaysia, particularly Bank Negara, had received strong recognition in the Financial Action Task Force’s 2025 mutual evaluation for measures taken by the country to recover funds.
