MALAYSIA: Malaysian state funds are now USD10 million (RM43.9m) poorer thanks to an investment in a failed online fashion retailer.
The investment by sovereign fund Khazanah Nasional has resulted in public outcry, resulting in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim calling for an audit.
In a social media post, the PM said, “As chairman, I have instructed Khazanah Nasional Berhad to conduct an internal audit to investigate issues related to the recent investment loss amounting to RM43.9 million.
This directive reinforces my earlier announcement directing the National Audit Department to audit 2,000 government-linked companies (GLCs) to establish a better governance system, as well as to ensure that all these companies fulfil their respective responsibilities and functions.”
The Malay Mail reported that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has also launched an investigation into the matter.
Malaysia has long been in hot soup over its fund mismanagement following the 1MDB corruption debacle. This latest investment is once again raising eyebrows.
According to a South China Morning Post report, the failed online retail brand, Fashion Valet, is the brainchild of influencer couple Vivy Yusof and Fadzarudin Shah Anuar.
The couple had planned to make their platform as big as other global retailers like SHEIN or Temu.
They did not succeed, as the Covid-19 pandemic led to the company crashing in 2022. As Khazanah’s investment came to light, the couple apologized, saying they expanded too soon.
They posted on Instagram saying, “We made the mistake of scaling the company in anticipation of continued growth, and when the pandemic hit, we were left exposed.”
#NSTBusinessTimes Fashion Valet Sdn Bhd (FV) in the limelight due to investment losses incurred by Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), saw five consecutive years of losses prior to their investment. https://t.co/PacpOMpMP9
— New Straits Times (@NST_Online) November 4, 2024
Malaysians were not happy with their explanation, especially because of the couple’s ostentatious display of wealth when the company was floundering.
Vivy was known to show off her Hermes Birkin collections on social media when the company went south.
One posting on X by Khairy Zulfadhli, which had 200,000 views, said, “She flaunts her wealth around while Khazanah and PNB’s funds go down the drain.”
MACC commission chief Azam Baki said in a statement, “This investigation is important because it involves the use of public funds and is an issue of public interest.”