In a statement today, Umno Youth deputy chief Khairul Azwan Harun said the party took a serious view of former Bank Negara assistant governor Abdul Murad Khalid’s allegations that the central bank suffered heavy losses in 1991 which were hidden from the public eye by a cover-up.

“Umno Youth urges that a royal commission of inquiry be set up to investigate whether Bank Negara almost went bankrupt in 1991 due to forex trading exposures amounting to US$150 billion (RM664 billion) and forex trading losses of US$30 billion.

“The inquiry should also find out whether there was a cover-up to conceal these losses from the public,” said Khairul.

He said the actual losses suffered in 1991 by the central bank, and whether the figure was higher than that declared, should also be investigated and disclosed.

“If there was indeed a cover-up, then those responsible for the crime as well as for the losses suffered by the bank must be caught.”

Murad has recently claimed that Bank Negara lost billions of dollars in foreign currency trading in the early 1990s.

He alleged that the losses were in US dollars and far higher than the sum reported, but no investigation was initiated to find out who was responsible for them.

On Jan 27, Prime Minister Najib Razak said the Cabinet will look into the allegations but will first wait for an explanation from the central bank before deciding on the next course of action.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) also said it would launch an investigation into the allegations only if BNM found any element of corruption and reports it to the MACC.