KUALA LUMPUR — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today defended Retirement Fund Inc’s (KWAP) investment in Indonesian aquaculture technology startup eFishery, stating the losses should be viewed against the fund’s overall strong performance while pledging greater scrutiny of future investments.
Responding to questions in the Dewan Negara, Anwar, who is also finance minister, said KWAP’s RM163.4 million investment in eFishery had gone through a rigorous investment process involving professional fund managers, feasibility studies and approvals by its investment panel and board, without political interference.
He stressed that individual investment decisions were made independently by professionals and did not require the approval of the Finance Ministry.
“I chose to announce the investment because it involves public funds,” he said, referring to KWAP’s investment in the Indonesian startup, which is now embroiled in an alleged fraud involving its management.
“The individuals responsible are already in prison,” he said, adding that the case showed even experienced global investors could be deceived.
Anwar noted that KWAP was not alone in backing eFishery, pointing out that some of the world’s most prominent investment firms, including Singapore’s Temasek, Japan’s SoftBank, Sequoia Capital, Aqua-Spark, Abu Dhabi-based 42XFund and Indonesia’s Northstar, had also invested in the company.
While acknowledging the investment loss, Anwar urged lawmakers to assess KWAP’s performance in its entirety.
Anwar said the RM160 million loss from the eFishery investment should be viewed in the context of KWAP’s overall performance, noting that the fund recorded RM12.9 billion in net profit in 2024 and an increase of RM15.8 billion in its fund size.
He said KWAP recorded annual growth of 9.3 per cent and that its performance should be assessed holistically alongside its overall strategy and action plans.
He added that KWAP had also recorded annual compound growth of more than 8.5 per cent and continued investing in Malaysian startups under programmes such as Gear Up, including companies like LaPasar and ZUS Coffee.
Nevertheless, Anwar said the government supported investigations into the investment and had instructed KWAP and the Finance Ministry to cooperate fully with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
