The homework KWAP didn't do
And a lil' somethin' on Citizen Balaji.
Kicking off Monday with two stories:
eFishery hits Parliament, and why KWAP’s loss need closure.
Balaji threatens to pack up and leave. But will he be missed?
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As I write this, I’m chuckling that it took us a whole year to get “excited” about the eFishery scandal.
It was among the biggest stories of late 2024.
But, in typical Malaysian fashion, for months only a small group of us wrote about it, to a relatively small audience, until it surfaced again this week.
(The timing for this faux public outrage is certainly the looming general election.)
On Wednesday, Subang MP Wong Chen asked Finance Minister (and PM) Anwar Ibrahim about KWAP’s investment in the failed startup.
Anwar’s reply didn’t spell out much, beyond that KWAP had been the victim of an orchestrated fraud.
The civil servants’ pension fund said it had reviewed the investment and taken the necessary steps to remedy things, including mulling legal action to claw back its money.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is now investigating, while Anwar said he’ll be addressing the Dewan Negara (Senate) today.
Now, when the parliamentary reply was published, some local media houses ran with “duped” in the headline.
That’s a pretty interesting word choice and also a good talking point for today’s newsletter.
Was KWAP duped into investing in eFishery?