Pensions Fund head office has no copies of annual report
Opposition members of Parliament today failed to obtain a copy of the Pensions Trust Fund (KWAP) annual report despite going to its headquarters in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur, to obtain an explanation for the fund's 48 percent investment in the unsubscribed Time dotCom initial public offering (IPO) shares.
About 10 MPs, led by DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang, were met by KWAP director Azian Mohd Noh at the lobby, who told them to write in for a copy, saying she did not have any at the office.
A request for a copy of last year's annual report drew the same response.
"I do not have any at the moment but if you write in, I will send you a copy today," she told the MPs and a group of reporters who were present.
"I share your concerns but I am not at the liberty to say anything or give press statements. You know this is a government department and we have a hierarchy here," she added.
'Biggest bailor'
Lim said the use of public funds to bail out the unsubscribed shares of Time dotCom, which amounted to 75 percent, at RM3.30 when the market had been quite unanimous in expecting a sharp plunge of its price on its public listing is tantamount to criminal negligence, criminal breach of trust and criminal misapplication of public funds.
"KWAP must explain why it has become a 'bailout fund'," he said.
In his press statement released today, Lim accused KWAP of being the "biggest bailor" among various government-linked funds and agencies that were revealed over the past week.
While asset management agency Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund have explained their interests in Time dotCom - the former to participate in the restructuring scheme of the dotcom's parent company Time Engineering and the latter to recover part of the RM500 million loan given - KWAP has yet to issue any statement on the matter.
However, national news agency Bernama today reported Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin, as saying that the pension fund became the sub-underwriter for Time dotCom's IPO as it expected the shares to be oversubscribed.
Acting in reckless disregard
Lim noted that since the first day of its public debut in the stock market last Monday, Time dotCom has been on a daily plunge, closing on the first day (Tuesday) at RM2.28, RM2.27 on Wednesday, RM2.17 Thursday, RM2.12 Friday and yesterday, RM2.04.
"As of yesterday, Time dotCom had lost 38.2 per cent of its IPO price of RM3.30, and this means that KWAP had lost the astronomical sum of RM345 million in six days of trading," Lim told reporters outside the building.
He added that KWAP had acted most imprudently and recklessly in disregard of its statutory charter to finance payments of pensions and gratuities for about 850,000 civil servants, including teachers.
KWAP was established on June 1, 1991, under Act 454 of the Pensions Trust Fund (PTF) Act 1991 to fund the payment of pensions and gratuities of public employees.
According to Lim, KWAP funds stood at RM15,126 million at the end of June last year, making it the second biggest of the nine provident and pension funds in the country, bigger than the Social Security Organisation (Socso) and the Armed Forces Fund.
No report
Lim said that under the PTF Act, the fund is to be administered by trustees called the Pensions Trust Fund Council.
The council comprises as chairman the secretary-general of the Finance Ministry and nine other members including an officer each from the Treasury, Bank Negara, Attorney-General's Chambers, Accountant-General's Department, Public Services Department, the Employees Provident Fund and three other members with business or financial experience.
He added that the accountant-general is responsible for the day-to-day administration and management of the affairs of the fund and that Article 16 of the Act stipulates that the fund's annual audited account and annual report shall be laid before Parliament.
"I have checked with the Parliament library as well as the National Library and both have confirmed that they have never received any reports from KWAP," said Lim.
Later, Lim and the MPs moved to the Sentul Police Station and lodged a police report against KWAP for possible criminal breach of trust and misapplication of public funds.
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