Hassan Karim (PH-Pasir Gudang) said the scale of Axiata’s losses ran into billions of ringgit, likening the issue to the debts racked up by 1MDB.

Hassan said Axiata’s overseas subsidiary was also said to have lost money in Indonesia.

“Domestically, the government is being prudent, we cut subsidies and perhaps we want to restructure pensions.

“However, if our publicly funded GLCs lose money abroad due to mismanagement or for whatever reasons, then it is not beneficial.

“We hope our GLCs perform like EPF, which makes profits.

“If there are companies incurring billions in losses, please address the problem,” Hassan said when debating the supply bill in the Dewan Rakyat.

In December, The Star reported that Axiata announced it had entered into an unconditional sale and purchase agreement with Spectrlite UK Ltd to dispose of Reynolds Holdings Ltd, which owns an 80% stake in Ncell Axiata Ltd, following its decision to exit the Nepal market after seven turbulent years.

The telco said the disposal includes a fixed payment of US$50 million as well as a conditional offer for Axiata to receive a portion of Ncell’s future distributions, subject to the company’s future business performance, net distributions through 2029 and any windfall gains during this time.

Axiata said it had considered some factors before deciding to withdraw, including the Nepalese government hitting the company with a US$434 million tax bill.