Three years ago, in a debate with former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, Anwar Ibrahim was critical of a proposal for the government to bail out debt-addled Sapura Energy Bhd.

The then-opposition leader had argued that any talk of a bailout could only be done after a forensic audit on Sapura to determine if the company - which Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) had heavily invested in - had been mismanaged.

Now, as the prime minister and finance minister, Anwar has...