Malaysiakini Friday March 16

By Susan Loone

5:41pm, Fri: Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributors will be mobilised to gather at EPF offices throughout the country to allow the 'silent majority' to speak out against the fund's latest investment bid in Time dotCom Bhd, an opposition leader said today.

DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang said that Barisan Alternatif (BA) leaders would be present at the EPF offices to help channel contributors' protests and concerns.

He said that the 'silent majority' should speak out against the "mismanagement of EPF funds with the latest case involving a loss of RM92 million due to a RM269 million investment in 81.6 million Time dotCom shares".

"I will try to be at as many of these EPF offices as possible where contributors can gather to let their protests and concerns be known," said Lim, in a press statement.

"The concerns expressed can be about the EPF's indefensible investments in Time dotCom or the its lowest dividend in 25 years when the six percent EPF dividend was declared for last year," he said.Regional crisis

Yesterday, EPF Chairman Abdul Halim Ali denied that EPF had bought up any unsubscribed portion of the initial public offering (IPO) of Time dotCom Bhd.

Halim clarified that in 1996, EPF approved a short-term loan of RM500 million at an interest of nine percent to Time Telecommunications Holdings, the telecommunications arm of Time Engineering Bhd.

He said the loan was secured by a corporate guarantee and an undertaking that part of proceeds of the impending IPO of Time dotCom Bhd were to be assigned to the EPF.

However, he said, the 1997 regional financial crisis affected the repayment schedule on the loan for which the tenure was 12 months or the IPO date, whichever was earlier.

Lim said that although Halim had tried to explain the circumstances for EPF's acquisition of the Time dotCom shares, he could not absolve or extenuate the "colossal misjudgment" of EPF in taking up any portion of the Time dotCom IPO.

"Halim must answer why EPF agreed to take 3.3 per cent of the Time dotCom IPO when the IPO could only get about 10 percent response from the public as it was universally regarded as not a good buy at RM3.30 a share," said Lim."This is not a flattering reflection on the expertise, professionalism and quality of EPF investment decision-making," he added.

Lim said that this must be the first time in Malaysian corporate history where a bad decision in subscribing to an IPO resulting in the loss of over RM92 million four days after its public listing could be justified as "sound financial considerations".

He added that EPF had acted in disregard of the interests of the 9.7 million EPF contributors in agreeing to the conversion of half of the loan to equity at such an "indefensible and inflated" price which became the object of market ridicule.

He reiterated that the time had come for the 9.7 million EPF contributors to cease to be the 'silent majority' and instead be the "outraged majority" and protest over EPF's lack of accountability, transparency, expertise and professionalism.

"We should register our protests, loudly and firmly, but peacefully, at the over 50 EPF offices in the country," Lim said.

On Wednesday, about 30 BA supporters gathered outside EPF office in Jalan Raja Laut, Kuala Lumpur to protest against EPF's latest investment bid.

The group later accompanied Lim, Parti Rakyat Malaysia executive committee member R Sivarasa and Keadilan secretary-general Anuar Tahir to lodge a police report against EPF for alleged criminal breach of trust and misuse of public funds.