Anwar comes under fire after govt pumps $331 million into ailing Sapura Energy

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has come under heavy fire after his government injected RM1.1 billion (S$331 million) into Sapura Energy on March 11, having previously criticised calls to bail out the former petroleum giant.

- Shannon Teoh

The opposition and ordinary Malaysians alike have mocked the premier over the subscription of Sapura's convertible loan stocks by a Finance Ministry-owned vehicle, pointing out how the then opposition leader had in 2022 been strongly against a bailout.

"What are the merits and rationale of channelling RM1.1 billion to an uncompetitive company facing losses?" asked Kelantan-based lawmaker Syahir Sulaiman in a March 12 press statement.

The shadow economy minister also questioned whether the funding meant to pay off debts to local vendors was approved by the Cabinet.

Malaysia's Cabinet includes Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli, deputy president of Datuk Seri Anwar's Parti Keadilan Rakyat, and leaders of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a key component of the ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition that has been vehemently against bailing out Sapura Energy.

But Mr Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, hit back at critics on March 13, denying that the fund injection was a bailout and claiming that critics would have attacked him no matter the decision made over Sapura Energy, which has been accumulating losses since 2018.