ANWAR Ibrahim was informed of the alleged foreign exchange losses two years after it was allegedly discovered by former Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) assistant governor Abdul Murad Khalid.

Murad, who was BNM adviser then, also said Anwar commented that he would have to resign as finance minister if the public knew the scale of the losses. 

Murad told the five-member Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) panel today that he discovered the losses in May 1992 and informed BNM governor Jaafar Hussein of them the following month.

He said he informed Anwar in “early 1994” of the central bank’s losses, which he claimed was in the region of US$10 billion (then RM25 billion).

“In early 1994, I was directed by Tan Sri Jaafar Hussein to provide an explanation to Anwar Ibrahim, who was finance minister at the time,” said in a sworn statement today. 

The RCI is led by Petronas chairman Mohd Sidek Hassan, who also chaired the special task force probing into the forex losses.

“Thereafter, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim requested that I join him on a flight to Hawaii to brief him on the losses, as was directed to me by Tan Sri Jaafar Hussein. 

“I then gave an explanation (of the situation) to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and he said he understood the problem of the losses and will discuss the matter with Tan Sri Jaafar Hussein.

“Aside from that, after the briefing, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim commented that if the true loss of Bank Negara Malaysia was made public, he would have to resign as finance minister.”

Murad took over as manager of BNM’s Banking Department in April 1992 and was later promoted as BNM adviser in April 1994.

Two other former BNM staff members, auditor Ahmad Hizzad Baharuddin and accounts manager Abdul Aziz Abdul Manaf also testified today. 

Hizzad told the RCI that Anwar may not have received all the facts during the scandal.

In his 22-page statement today, Hizzad said there was a “possibility of inaccurate reporting of information to the senior management, board of Bank Negara and the minister of finance (Anwar).”

Hizzad added that the accounts department did not see any “suppression of information” regarding the losses. 

Jailed Pakatan Harapan de facto leader Anwar was finance minister from 1991 and 1998, while Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who chairs Pakatan Harapan, was prime minister between 1981 and 2003.

Opposition lawmakers have called the RCI “politically motivated”.

The former prime minister was not questioned by the task force but is expected to be a mainstay in the proceedings.

BNM disclosed in its 1994 annual report that it incurred RM9.3 billion in losses. – August 21, 2017.