FOREX RCI | A former bank special assistant to the Bank Negara governor said the central bank's then governor, the late Jaffar Hussein, was "shocked" when he was informed of the foreign exchange losses.

Testifying before the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) tasked to investigate the losses, Lee Siew Kuan, 86 – who was offered a position by former deputy governor Lin See Yan as a contract officer to Bank Negara in 1987 – said Jaffar had initially requested him to look into the central bank's accounts.

"I checked with the accounts department and was told by the accountant informing me that there were big losses suffered by Bank Negara in the forex transactions...