FORMER prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak hit back at PKR vice president Rafizi Ramli’s accusation that the former did nothing when Sapura Energy Sdn Bhd was paying hundreds of millions to its board of directors during his tenure.
“Let me clear this. Yes, I didn’t say anything back then when their directors were being paid top dollar because before 2019, Sapura was a private company.
“It was established by the-then CEO to become the world second largest oil and gas services company in the world.
“At the time, it was not a Government-linked company (GLC) and not under my purview,” he said, in a Facebook post.
Earlier today, Rafizi claimed that Sapura’s executive directors received RM983 mil in salaries and other perks between 2009 and 2018, when Najib was heading Putrajaya.
He also said that Sapura’s financial records on the last decade was mired with controversy and as prime minister back then, Najib was responsible to ensure the company provided value for money to its shareholders.
“When he was in charge to ensure Sapura’s workers are not affected, where was he?” Free Malaysia Today reported the former Pandan MP as asking.
Hurling brickbats at Rafizi, Najib said that as a private organisation, it was Sapura’s shareholders and board of directors who decided on the perks enjoyed by their management staff.
“Even if they wanted to pay RM1 bil a year, it was not the Government’s problem as Sapura’s shareholders and board of directors permitted it,” he added.
On that note, Najib asked why Rafizi kept silent when one of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s sons sold of his stakes in Sapura to get funds amounting up to RM4 bil between 2015 and 2017.
Pakatan bailed out Sapura in 2019
He also queried on Rafizi’s silence when Pakatan Harapan injected RM2.7 bil to Sapura in 2019, which made the Government its largest shareholder by owning 40% of its stocks despite knowing the CEO was getting paid an exorbitant salary.
“The one who bailed out Sapura was you guys but no one even squeaked about it,” Najib lashed out.
With that, the Pekan MP said that he was merely providing suggestions on how to help Sapura back to its feet, claiming the company has great potential.
He added that Sapura was one of the biggest multi-national companies (MNC) which had spearheaded various massive projects in over 20 countries during its peak.
“If Petronas, which needs Sapura’s expertise, acquires the latter, the Government need not fork out a cent for it. In fact, we can revive the company to its previous glory and the potential is there.
“Allowing Sapura to go bust will not benefit anyone. I just want to solve a problem but Rafizi just wants to find fault, even though Sapura was a private entity before 2019,” Najib remarked. – March 31, 2022
