KUALA LUMPUR - Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has come under heavy fire after his government injected RM1.1 billion (S$330 million) into Sapura Energy on March 11, having previously criticised calls to bail out the former petroleum giant.

The opposition and ordinary Malaysians alike have mocked the premier over the subscription of Sapura’s convertible loan stocks by a finance ministry-owned vehicle, pointing out how the then opposition leader had in 2022 been strongly against a bailout without a forensic audit to identify mismanagement in the oil and gas firm that is now saddled with RM16 billion in liabilities.

“What are the merits and rationale of channeling RM1.1 billion to an uncompetitive company facing losses?” said Kelantan-based lawmaker Syahir Sulaiman in a March 12 press statement.

The MP and shadow economy minister also questioned whether the funding meant to pay off debts to local vendors was approved by Cabinet.

Malaysia’s Cabinet includes Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli, deputy president of Datuk Seri Anwar’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat, and leaders of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a key component of the Anwar-led ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition that has been vehemently against bailing out Sapura Energy.

But Mr Anwar, who is also finance minister, hit back at critics on March 13, denying that the fund injection was a bailout and claiming that critics would have attacked him no matter the decision made over Sapura Energy, which has been accumulating losses since 2018.

He said it was a difficult choice for him to make, given his long opposition towards government bailouts of private firms. However, he said this situation was different and that he expected Sapura Energy’s new management to eventually repay the government in full.

“Out of the approximately 2,000 vendors, 80 per cent of them are Bumiputera. How can they be punished? If I don’t help them, they (critics) will say Anwar is a traitor who no longer champions the bumiputera, he’s just a mouthpiece for DAP,” the premier said at the finance ministry’s monthly assembly in Putrajaya.

He was referring to constant allegations from right-wing Malay nationalist groups that the Chinese-led DAP is against pro-Malay Muslim policies including affirmative action for bumiputera...