Umno Youth has called on the government to form a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to look into the National Farmers’ Organisation (Nafas) and Khazanah Nasional Berhad’s losses in relation to Fashion Valet.
The wing’s chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh thanked Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim for his stern stand on these issues, where he vowed not to interfere or hinder investigations in his capacity as chairperson of Khazanah.
“Profit and loss are commonplace but when the funds come from public coffers, there must be a transparent investigation and the findings revealed to the public so that it can serve as a lesson for the future.
“Therefore, we are suggesting that an RCI is formed to look into both these cases.
“Whether it is Fashion Valet or Nafas, if there are wrongdoings, nobody from these cartels that swindle public funds should be spared,” Akmal said in a Facebook post this morning.
Yesterday, MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki said it is investigating the Fashion Valet investment after it was reported that Khazanah and PNB’s shares dropped by almost RM44 million when the business was sold in 2023 compared to the amount they spent in 2018.
Khazanah had pumped in RM27 million and PNB RM20 million to acquire a minority stake in the local fashion brand – in a plan to boost bumiputera businesses in the e-commerce sector.
Since the issue came into the spotlight, Fashion Valet and the two state-owned investment companies have been heavily criticised by the public.
Fashion Valet’s founders Vivy Yusof and her husband Fadzaruddin Shah Anuar have since stepped down.
MACC is also probing Nafas, which is under the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry, over alleged cartel involvement in the distribution and supply of paddy fertiliser contracts.
Yesterday, MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki confirmed an ongoing investigation into the losses sustained by Khazanah and PNB from their investments in Fashion Valet.
Azam reportedly said he ordered anti-graft investigators to probe the matter of concern, as it involves public funds.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is also Khazanah’s chairperson, ordered an internal audit to “investigate problems linked to its recent losses of investment worth RM43.9 million”.