The losses incurred by Bank Negara Malaysia in foreign exchange in the 1990s is an “actual loss” that should be investigated, says Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Azalina Othman Said.

“Let the police carry out the investigation. I hope the investigation will show what really happened to our country in terms of huge financial losses in the forex scandal,” she said.

Azalina, who is also an Umno Supreme Council member, was asked about allegations that the Bank Negara forex scandal was dug up to silence 1MDB critics, after she attended a closed-door presidential briefing in conjunction with the Umno General Assembly 2017 in Kuala Lumpur today.

The Royal Commission of Inquiry’s (RCI) investigations over losses incurred by Bank Negara in foreign exchange in the 1990s were presented in a 524-page report tabled in Parliament on Nov 30.

The commission, in the report, believed that former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was aware of then-finance minister Anwar Ibrahim’s actions, which had caused Bank Negara to incur losses amounting to RM31.5 billion between 1992 and 1994.

The five-member commission headed by former chief secretary to the government, Mohd Sidek Hassan, also believed that the then finance minister had deliberately concealed the facts and information and made misleading statements to the Cabinet on the matter.

The commission’s secretary, Yusof Ismail, then lodged a report at the Putrajaya police headquarters.

On Dec 1, inspector-general of police Mohamad Fuzi Harun said a special team led by Bukit Aman commercial CID director Amar Singh Ishar Singh was established to investigate the case from all angles.

- Bernama