KUALA LUMPUR – Losses incurred by Khazanah Nasional Bhd due to the sale of its minority shares in e-commerce platform Fashion Valet Sdn Bhd (FashionValet) warrants a response from parties involved in the issue, government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil said today.
Noting that the matter is being monitored, Fahmi, who is also the communications minister, acknowledged that various quarters have raised concerns regarding the transaction involving public monies.
However, he said that Khazanah and FashionValet should be given some time to provide their response on the issue, which came to light following a parliamentary written reply from the Finance Ministry on Tuesday.
“Of course, a lot of people have a lot of questions and I think we need to give the respective parties a little bit of time to come up (with) formal responses,” Fahmi told reporters after attending the Madani Deepavali open house at Sentul Depot today, hosted by Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo.
“Even my wife has asked (about the issue). Now, we’re seeing a lot of (online) content being put out about the kind of thing that may have been going on.”
When asked when the involved parties are expected to present their responses to authorities, Fahmi said: “I hope very soon.”
“I’m not in charge of them, but I hope that in the interest of the public, they should come up with a statement soon.”
Today’s Deepavali Madani event was also attended by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamid, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir, Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, and others.
In response to a query from Puchong MP Yeo Bee Yin, the Finance Ministry previously said that Khazanah and Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) had sold their combined RM47 million stake in Fashion Valet for a mere RM3.1 million.
Khazanah, in 2018, had invested RM27 million into the country’s first local fashion e-commerce website while PNB had contributed RM20 million.
The ministry also said that the total loss suffered from Khazanah and PNB’s sale of its shares in Fashion Valet is “negligible” compared to the entities’ overall income for the relevant year.
Netizens have since called for Fashion Valet owner Datin Vivy Yusof to explain how her business had utilised Khazanah and PNB’s investments, which were made using public funds. – October 31, 2024