Cabinet green lights task force on Bank Negara's forex losses

The government has agreed to set up a task force to look into the foreign exchange (forex) losses incurred by Bank Negara Malaysia in the 1990s.

The decision came following the cabinet meeting this evening.

According to Bernama, the announcement was made by the Prime Minister's Office via a statement this evening. 

The task force would be made up of representatives from various government agencies, including "highly respected" individuals who are experts in certain fields. 

"This task force will make recommendations and suggestions for consideration
by the cabinet in the near future, for follow up action, including the setting up
of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) if needed, based on the outcome of the
probe," the statement said.

The setting up of the task force reflected the government's commitment and transparency to ensure that Bank Negara's dealings at the time followed the guidelines on good governance, it added. 

"The setting up of this special task force is a first step to get all the related facts - analyse all the Hansard details on this during Parliament sittings on the matter at the time, minutes of past cabinet meetings, Auditor-General's reports, Bank Negara Malaysia reports, as well as reports by related government agencies."

Besides, it is also aimed at finding out what had really happened, how much "actual" losses were incurred, whether there was any financial mismanagement and there was any attempts by certain parties to cover up the matter, said the PMO.

The controversial losses, which occurred almost three decades ago, was played up after Dr Mahathir Mohamad sought to unite the opposition in a bid to oust Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Mahathir was prime minister when Bank Negara's activities in the forex market turned sour.

The former prime minister had accused Najib of corruption following reports of multi-billion ringgit deposits in his personal bank accounts.

Najib denied the money was from 1MDB and claimed it was a "donation" from a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family.

The prime minister had also denied wrongdoing or taking public funds for personal gain.- Mkini