LANGKAWI: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today disagreed with calls for the government to bail out financially-troubled Sapura Energy Bhd.
Instead, he stressed that efforts must be taken to trim losses incurred by the oil and gas service provider, once the second largest in the world.
The Langkawi member of parliament said Sapura had received huge investments from public-owned investment institutions with the objective of reaping profits.
"Sapura had grown so fast, we do not know exactly how they had incurred such hefty losses, so the investors stand to suffer losses.
"When we incur losses, we need to find ways to trim the losses, but if we were to bail out failed people, this is not business.
"In business, there are times when we make profit, there are also times when we incur losses," he told reporters at the Langkawi MP's Hari Raya open house in Pantai Cenang today.
Dr Mahathir was commenting on calls by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for the government to bail out Sapura as the company belonged to all Malaysians.
In his debate with opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday, the sixth prime minister had said the failure by the government to decide by June 10 would result in Sapura being declared bankrupt.
Najib had said Sapura now belonged to all Malaysians as state-owned Perbadanan Nasional Bhd (PNB) holds a 40 per cent stake in the company.
PNB manages Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd (ASNB), where some 10.6 million Malaysians invest in the fund.
In 2019, the then Pakatan Harapan federal administration turned Sapura Energy it into a government-linked company through a 40 per cent stake acquisition by PNB.
Najib, who is also Pekan member of parliament, had suggested for national petroleum company, Petronas, to take over Sapura Energy as it has the expertise to handle a firm of a similar industry, similar to the move that had been implemented in countries such as the United States and Italy.
However, Anwar had questioned the move, arguing that since Petronas is a state-owned company, spending a huge amount of money would be equal to the public forking out their money too.
Instead, Anwar had stressed that the government should launch a forensic audit to establish the causes of Sapura Energy's financial woes.
He had pointed out that Najib's argument that Sapura should be bailed out due to its status as a Bumiputera company did not hold water.
The Port Dickson member of parliament had called for the government to find another Bumiputera company with integrity and the relevant expertise to take over Sapura instead.