Anwar slams Zafrul for playing down impact of Genting HK’s demise

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has criticised Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz for dismissing the potential fallout from the collapse of Genting Hong Kong Limited.

In a statement today, he reiterated concern that the firm’s bankruptcy would ultimately affect Malaysians.

This is due to the government’s major stakes in national banks that in turn, provided unsecured loans to Genting Hong Kong.

“His relaxed and casual manner when explaining the issue was very disappointing when we know major financial bodies and funds have strong investment links in local banks,” he said.

Anwar also alluded to Zafrul’s possible involvement in Genting Hong Kong loans back when the latter was a top banker.

“Zafrul was the investment banking chief at Maybank when the loan to Genting Hong Kong was given. He was later on the CIMB board of executives when the Genting Hong Kong loan was serviced.

“He has been the finance minister for almost two years. He has vast experience in relation to the deal and has had ample time to make (legal) amendments to ensure bank users benefit. But this did not take place.

“Simply put, only the current finance minister (Zafrul) could have negotiated a better deal with Genting Hong Kong, but it appears that he failed,” he remarked.

Bankruptcy vs ‘no material loss’

The PKR president’s statement was his latest in a series of exchanges with Zafrul over the issue.

Anwar previously demanded an explanation as to why government-linked banks provided some RM2.51 billion in unsecured financing to Genting Hong Kong.

In response, Zafrul said neither he nor government shareholders interfered with how banks operate, including whom to offer unsecured loans.

Not only were unsecured loans “not unusual”, but the minister also disclosed that Genting Hong Kong’s loans had been approved before the Covid-19 pandemic jeopardised the cruise liner industry.

Today, Anwar criticised Zafrul’s attitude on the matter.

“An efficient finance minister should display a high level of integrity when managing allocations and funds, especially at a time when millions of Malaysians are facing unemployment, an unstable economy and poverty.

“Many are struggling to repay their loans because of the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on our economy. To some, bankruptcy is a killer blow.

“However, to those ‘tauke’ who have ‘cables’, this problem is regarded as something that has ‘no material loss’ that can be addressed with a little corporate restructuring. To economists, this is a mere ‘moral risk’. However, Malaysians see this as a form of injustice,” he said.

The Port Dickson MP reiterated that Malaysia had suffered numerous financial scandals, like the Bumiputra Malaysia Finance (BMF) affair.

The BMF scandal broke in 1983 and similarly involved large loans to a Hong Kong-based company. The government eventually had to bail out Bank Bumiputra Malaysia Bhd to the tune of billions.

Zafrul previously said that despite Genting Hong Kong going bankrupt, its banks and the Malaysian banking sector was resilient enough to face challenges.

The three banks that reportedly provided unsecured loans to the firm are Maybank, CIMB and RHB.  - Mkini