KUCHING: Sarawak has appointed nine distinguished professionals to the Board of Guardians for the Sarawak Sovereign Wealth Future Fund with former Federal Court judge Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Sulong Matjeraie as the chairman.
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said the state fund will be managed in a professional and transparent manner by experts and professionals in the fields of finance, investment, legal and governance.
The appointment of the nine board members has been approved on July 27.
“Leading the board is the former Federal Court Judge, Sulong Matjeraie, with over 30 years of legal and judicial experience. He had also served the Sarawak government for 17 years in various leadership capacities.
“Presently, he is chairman of the Board of Directors of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) and he also holds several directorships in public listed companies,” he said at a press conference held at Wisma Bapa here today.
Abang Johari said eight other professionals have been invited to join the board, namely Tan Sri Datuk Amar Leonard Linggi Jugah, Tan Sri Ahmad Nizam Salleh, Datuk Iain John Lo, Grainne Dooley, Mohsen Fahmi and Datuk Soedirman Aini.
Meanwhile, State Attorney General Datuk Seri Talat Mahmood Abd Rashid and State Financial Secretary Datuk Swri Dr Wan Lizozman Wan Omar will be appointed as the ex-officio members of the board.
“I believe the diverse and extensive experiences and strong credentials of these distinguished professionals will be invaluable and of great advantage to the fund in achieving its objectives.
“Upon finalising their appointments, we target the fund to commence in Jan 1 next year, having putting in place all the structural and governance frameworks,” he said.
He added that the tenure of the Board of Guardians will be three years per term.
Earlier, Abang Johari said the sovereign wealth fund will start with an initial state allocation of RM8 billion and subsequently will receive a scheduled yearly allocation.
It is estimated to grow sustainably with no withdrawal except for any potential critical event or when the fund performed better than targeted.
“It will be managed strictly in accordance with the investment policy and mandate of the fund, that is to deliver long-term risk-balanced real growth in its invested assets.
“The account of the fund and its annual report of activities will be laid before the Sarawak State Assembly and its annual budget will be approved by the state cabinet,” he said.
In November last year, the Sarawak State Assembly passed the Sarawak Sovereign Wealth Future Fund Board Ordinance, 2022 to establish a body corporate to be the custodian of a state fund, known as Sarawak Sovereign Wealth Future Fund.
Its key objective is to safeguard and invest monies in the fund for its sustainable growth and maximum return, in the interests of the state and the future generations of the people of Sarawak.
Abang Johari assured that the establishment of the fund will subscribe to international best practices which include generally accepted principles and practices (GAPP) for sovereign wealth funds, better known as the ‘Santiago Principles’ which have also been adopted by most of the sovereign wealth funds in the world.
GAPP advocates the principles of transparency, accountability, good governance structure, and sound investment. These principles are taken up and institutionalised in the establishment of the fund.
“In our effort to apply the highest standard of governance and transparency in managing our sovereign wealth fund while also allowing us to network and share knowledge on best practices with other global sovereign wealth funds, we will join as a member of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF).
Most of the established global sovereign wealth funds are members of the IFSWF,” he added.
The Premier also shared the background of the other members of the board, including Leonard Linggi, who is the chairman of Limar Group Tan Sri Datuk Amar Leonard Linggi Jugah and a chairman and managing trustee of the Tun Jugah Foundation and Dayak Cultural Foundation, respectively.
He was one of the pioneer figures responsible for the establishment of the Dayak Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2003 and presently he is the advisor to the chamber’s supreme council.
Ahmad Nizam is former chairman of Petronas from 2018 to 2021 and prior to that, he had served Petronas in various leadership positions for 37 years. He is presently the chairman of KLCC Group of Companies and chairman of Pelaburan Hartanah Berhad.
Lo is the former chairman of Shell Malaysia Ltd. with extensive experience and roles for over 30 years in Shell business, both in Malaysia and abroad. He is presently the independent non-executive director of RHB Bank Berhad, RHB Investment Bank Berhad and Digi Telecommunications.
As for Grainne Dooley, she has a significant experience in investment and fund management and qualified in corporate governance, having sat on several highly regulated financial services boards. Presently, she is taking up non-executive board roles in fund management companies such as Interactive Brokers (Ireland) and Haven Green Investment Management and Forestay Capital II.
Mohsen Fahmi has spent most of his career in US and UK with his last posting with Pacific Investment Management Company LLC (PIMCO) US, as member of Investment Committee who was involved in setting investment strategy for the firm’s USD2 trillion of assets. He is also member of the Investment Advisory Committee for Charitable Foundation.
Meanwhile, Soedirman served the Sarawak government for 24 years in various leadership capacities and prior to that, he was with Petronas for 13 years. Presently, he is a director of Permodalan Nasional Berhad and sits on the board of various government-linked companies and non-governmental organisations.
Also present at the press conference were Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, State Secretary Datuk Amar Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki, Talat Mahmood and Wan Lizozman.
