Is there cabinet consensus on Sapura Energy bailout, asks MP

Summary

• Bachok MP Syahir Sulaiman questions the RM1.1b public fund allocation to Sapura Energy, asking if it was part of Budget 2025 and whether it had cabinet consensus.

• Sapura Energy is receiving funds from MOF Inc’s SPV, stating it would be used solely to clear debts owed to 2,000 vendors.

• Syahir highlights that DAP, PKR, and Rafizi Ramli previously opposed bailouts, questioning if Rafizi now supports the decision despite his 2022 criticism of Najib’s proposal.

An opposition MP has questioned if a cabinet consensus was reached in the public allocation of RM1.1 billion to Sapura Energy Bhd.

Bachok MP Syahir Sulaiman also wanted to know the rationale and merit behind the allocation to a company struggling with financial losses and competitiveness.

“Does this investment injection involve public funds from Budget 2025?

“Considering that, according to the second finance minister, RM7.063 billion was already allocated for MOF Inc’s financial commitments across multiple projects and companies,” he said in a statement today.

Syahir (above) further pressed whether the bailout was a collective cabinet decision, particularly directing his concerns at DAP ministers, noting that its chairperson Lim Guan Eng and his father Kit Siang historically opposed bailouts.

In a Bursa Malaysia filing yesterday, Sapura Energy announced it had received RM1.1 billion from Malaysia Development Holding Sdn Bhd (MDH), a special purpose vehicle (SPV) under MOF Inc.

The funds will be exclusively used to settle outstanding debts with 2,000 vendors, many of them Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, it said.

Shocking move

Syahir described the move as shocking, pointing out that apart from DAP, PKR also previously opposed bailouts, including its president Anwar Ibrahim when he was the opposition leader. However, it now seems Anwar has thrown Sapura Energy a lifeline.

The PAS lawmaker pointed out that former premier Najib Abdul Razak had proposed a bailout for Sapura Energy in 2022, which PKR leader Rafizi Ramli also objected to.

Syahir asked whether Rafizi supported the move now that he is the economy minister.

In 2022, Rafizi said Sapura’s problem could be solved without Najib’s bailout idea.

Rafizi had said the financial problems plaguing Sapura were common in the global business world, and as such, it can follow previous examples in solving the issue instead of relying on a government bailout.

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