RCI informed changes made to annual financial statement

PUTRAJAYA: Former Accounts Manager of Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) Accounts Department Saleha Lajim told the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to investigate the central bank's foreign exchange (forex) losses in the 1990s that she received oral instructions from then Deputy Governor Tan Sri Dr Lin See-Yan to make changes to the bank's annual financial statement.
She said the instruction was given to her at a meeting which she attended, following which she instructed the staff at the Accounts Department to make the changes.
"I believe my superiors had discussed and thought of the best way to address the losses incurred. My superiors then (post of advisers and above) had known about the status on profit and losses from forex trading based on the weekly report given at the meeting," she said when reading her witness testimony during the RCI proceeding at the Palace of Justice here today.
Saleha, who joined BNM in 1986 as a senior accounts officer, said if the draft board paper was approved, it would be verified by the governor and submitted to the Accounts Department to make the changes.
She also said that when she took over as manager of the Accounts Department in 1993, BNM did carry out forex trading, but was not told whether the activity was merely to stabilise the ringgit or in the form of speculation.
"In the weekly meeting that was held, as far as I can remember, most of the status of the forex activities that were carried out suffered losses and it was known to the then deputy governor," she said, adding that the report on the profit and loss in the forex activities was stated in the weekly report for the meeting with the deputy governor.
However, Saleha said that in 1993, the foreign exchange activity was not stated in the financial statement, instead, it was categorised as deferred expenditure.
"Up to the financial statement for 1993, I am not able to remember the total losses incurred by BNM, but the amount was quite big," she said. — Bernama