'Those who okayed FashionValet investment still glorified'

Former Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) chief executive officer Jalil Rasheed spoke out over alleged non-accountability and idolisation of those involved in approving the investment into FashionValet.

Jalil (above) - who joined PNB some 18 months after it invested RM20 million into the clothing company - said those same people are still being hailed as corporate icons.

"The very people who approved this are still being adulated as corporate heroes and giving talks on what success looks like.

"It’s a failure of society for giving them airtime and space," he posted on X on Oct 30.

He then appeared to take a swipe at the then-PNB chairperson when the investment was made in March 2018.

"The one who approved this investment is still around, still a chairperson of a public company in Malaysia.

"He likes to say he is from a poor family, studied under lights, became an accountant, and did not live in luxury.

"But the way he manages a company is like a Malay welfare department. Call it out," he said, without naming names.

It is believed he was referring to former PNB chairperson Abdul Wahid Omar, who is the Bursa Malaysia chairperson.

Malaysiakini is attempting to get a comment from Wahid.

PNB and Khazanah Nasional had jointly invested RM47 million in FashionValet in March 2018.

However, it was revealed in October this year that when the two firms exited the clothing company in 2023, the value of their shares had dwindled to RM3.1 million.

Charged with CBT

Today, FashionValet co-founders Vivy Yusof and her husband Fadzaruddin Shah Anuar were charged with criminal breach of trust for allegedly embezzling RM8 million in Khazanah and PNB funds by transferring it to another company they owned without board approval.

Despite criticising the decision makers behind the FashionValet investment, Jalil said it was important to note it was not the government's fault as such decisions are made at the management and investment committee level.

He said investment proposals go through multiple levels of approval before it is brought to the board.

"When it gets to board, unfortunately, you reach a stage of feudalism where what the chairperson says flies.

"Very rarely do board members question when the chairperson feels for something. Good board members will insist they disagree and should be minuted," he said.

In a separate series of posts on X on Nov 2, Jalil added that while boards usually take recommendations made by investment committees, questions should still be asked.

In the FashionValet case, Jalil said it should be asked whether board members had thrown hard questions on why investing in the clothing company was a good plan.

While venture capital investments have a high degree of failure, he said it is not a bad strategy as long as there is precision and focus.

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COMMENT | Company directors should be held responsible