AMANAH Raya Bhd (ARB) must conduct an audit on its accumulated losses, especially in relation to the 56 units of property in the investment project at Keppel Bay, Singapore, says Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Wong Kah Woh.

       In a statement, Wong said the investment performance of Kumpulan Wang Bersama (KWB), a fund managed by ARB, was not encouraging and contributed to an accumulated loss of RM1.023bil in 2019.

       “Among them, ARB recorded a loss of RM114.3mil in the investment of 56 units of property at Keppel Bay where the Gross Development Value (GDV) was insufficient to cover the cost of the investment,” he said.

       This came following a PAC proceeding touching on the issue held in Parliament yesterday.

       On Dec 10 last year, the Auditor General Report 2019 Series 1 found that ARB’s fund management to be inefficient as it recorded a deficit from 2008 to 2019.

       However, it noted that ARB has been making efforts towards the recovery of KWB funds starting from 2019.

       Wong said that there was no document to show due diligence or a feasibility study being implemented before the investment in Singapore was made.

       “ARB has also been found to be negligent in carrying out its investment decision by estimating that the GDV was higher compared to the market price,” he added.

       Wong also said ARB must come up with a comprehensive investment policy to maximise its investment impact in line with the objective of its formation.

       “An investment committee must assist the investment experts and be fully responsible to the board members in line with the interest of the organisation,” he said.