KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 18): The sale of shares in Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) and Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) in the 1990s to cover the foreign exchange (forex) losses it suffered was to be done discreetly, the Finance Ministry's former deputy finance secretary Datuk Othman Jusoh told the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the scandal today.

Othman told the five-member panel that the sale of the shares to bail out the central bank to shore up the reserve — which suffered losses amounting to RM8.5 billion — was to be done discreetly through Rashid Hussein Securities Sdn Bhd.

Othman said the decision to sell the shares discreetly was made during a meeting held in November 1994 in which the then treasury secretary general Tan Sri Datuk Clifford Herbert, the former Deputy Governor of BNM as well as the then Auditor General were present. However, he could not recall the others in attendance.

Othman added that he was not aware who made the decision, nor what considerations were taken into account.

At the previous RCI hearing, former deputy prime minister and finance minister between 1991 and 1998 Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had testified that the share buyback of TM and TNB's shares was to prevent the central bank from slipping into further losses.