Umno agrees to forensic audit on Sapura Energy - Zahid

KUALA LUMPUR - Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the party agrees that a forensic audit has to be conducted on Sapura Energy Bhd.

This, he said must be done for the sake of transparency.

“We agree that forensic auditing must also be done so that it is more transparent,” he said during his speech at the Umno extraordinary general assembly (EGM) at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur (WTCKL), today.

This comes after opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim highlighted the matter during a recent debate.

Zahid added that he wanted to see the Malay and Bumiputera agenda to continue to be empowered in the next two decades including strengthening Bumiputera trust agencies.

"Bumiputera equity holding institutions including Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), Tabung Haji (TH), Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) and Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) must become the government’s main agenda without bowing to pressure for those agendas to be sidelined.

"As highlighted in the debate between two political leaders (Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Anwar) four days ago, companies in which PNB has stakes in, such as Sapura Energy, involving over 10 million Amanah Saham Nasional (ASN) unit holders, need to be assisted.

"Without using direct government funds, Petronas is suited to take over and do a turn-around immediately,” he said.

The extraordinary general meeting was attended by 2,586 Umno members, along with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, the party's vice-president, who had just arrived from attending Asean-United States Summit in Washington, US.

Also present were Umno Permanent Chairman Tan Sri Badruddin Amiruldin, Umno Deputy President Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Umno Vice President Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid and Datuk Seri Mohamed Khalied Nordin, Wanita Chief Datuk Noraini Ahmad, Pemuda Chief Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Datuk Dusuki, Puteri Chief Datuk Zahida Zarik Khan,,Secretary-General Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan, Treasurer Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, Supreme Council Members and the delegates.

The extraordinary general meeting (EGM) today was for Umno delegates to vote over the party’s constitution amendment to allow internal polls to be held within 6 months after general elections.