PRIME MINISTER Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has ordered a comprehensive review of the approval process behind Retirement Fund Inc’s (KWAP) RM163.4 million investment in Indonesian aquaculture technology startup eFishery, as authorities investigate allegations of financial misconduct linked to the company.
Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, said the government fully supported the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) probe into the investment and instructed KWAP and the Finance Ministry to provide full cooperation.
“Certainly, an investigation must be carried out. That is why I support MACC’s efforts to examine whether there were any breaches, violations or elements of corruption.
“MACC must also look into the investment process, as well as the decisions made by the investment panel and ultimately approved by the board," he said in the Dewan Negara on Monday.
MACC chief commissioner Datuk Seri Abd Halim Aman had earlier announced the formation of a special investigation team to examine the issue involving losses of about RM200 million linked to KWAP’s investment in eFishery.
Anwar said the case demonstrated that even sophisticated due diligence processes and approvals by internationally recognised auditors could not eliminate investment risks.
"Two certified audit firms approved it, and the third also approved it, although it was not fully verified. These are three of the world’s largest audit companies that approved it.
"When I studied this, I thought this was truly an extraordinary level of expertise from Jakarta — but unfortunately, it was expertise used in a fraud," he said.
He said the episode served as a warning that investors and institutions could not depend solely on audit reports when assessing investment risks.
"This is also a lesson that even if something is verified by world-renowned audit firms, it does not guarantee success.
"If we look at the 1MDB experience, Goldman Sachs, a globally recognised financial company, was also involved in transactions linked to fraud.
"We cannot rely entirely on auditors or experts. We must also look at values, governance and integrity," he said.
Anwar said investment panels at government-linked funds must consider broader factors beyond financial assessments, including institutional accountability and ethical standards.
"Under MADANI, we talk about intelligence, expertise and embracing new technology. We must reach for the skies, but we must remain grounded with values and ethics," he said.
He stressed that KWAP’s investment decisions were made independently by professionals and did not require approval from the Finance Ministry.
"I chose to announce the investment because it involves public funds," he said, adding that those responsible for the alleged misconduct had already faced legal action.
Anwar also pointed out that KWAP was not the only institutional investor affected by the controversy, with major global funds including Singapore’s Temasek, Japan’s SoftBank, Sequoia Capital, Aqua-Spark, Abu Dhabi-based 42XFund and Indonesia’s Northstar also having invested in the company.
While acknowledging the losses arising from the investment, Anwar urged lawmakers to evaluate KWAP’s overall performance rather than focusing on a single failed investment.
"The loss was RM160 million. KWAP recorded RM12.9 billion in net profit in 2024, while the Fund increased by RM15.8 billion.
"If we want the fund to be even more careful, we must evaluate it holistically by looking at its overall performance and action plans," he said.
He added that KWAP had achieved annual compound growth of more than 8.5 per cent and continued investing in Malaysian startups through programmes such as Gear Up, including companies such as LaPasar and ZUS Coffee.
However, Anwar said strong overall returns did not exempt KWAP from improving its investment safeguards, stressing that startup investments naturally carried risks but corruption and leakages would not be tolerated.
"Investment, especially in startups, always carries risks. There will be losses from time to time, but we will not compromise on corruption or leakages," he said.
KWAP confirmed on July 18 that it had invested RM163.4 million in eFishery and was pursuing all available avenues to recover the funds following reports of alleged financial manipulation at the Indonesian agritech company.
The pension fund said the wider eFishery case involved "deliberate financial manipulation and misrepresentation of the company’s financial reporting".
It added that eFishery co-founder and former chief executive Gibran Huzaifah was sentenced by the Bandung District Court on April 29 to nine years’ imprisonment after being convicted of embezzlement and money laundering.
Once considered one of Indonesia’s leading agritech startups, eFishery’s rapid expansion collapsed after allegations of accounting fraud emerged, triggering criminal proceedings against its former management.
KWAP said its investment represented about 2.51 per cent of eFishery’s shares, making it a minority shareholder alongside other major institutional investors affected by the alleged misconduct. - July 20, 2026
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