KWAN Must Reflect Malaysia's Broader Natural Resource Wealth -- Amir Hamzah
KUALA LUMPUR, July 16 (Bernama) -- The National Trust Fund (KWAN) Bill 2026, passed in the parliament today, underscores Malaysia's commitment to diversifying its economy.
It acknowledges that the country's natural resource wealth extends beyond oil and gas and that building this intergenerational fund should not depend on a single institution alone.
Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said that since 1988, Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has carried this responsibility almost entirely on its own and its contributions to KWAN over the decades came from something deeper than corporate obligation.
“KWAN was established in 1988 with a straightforward but profound purpose, to set aside wealth generated from Malaysia's exhaustible natural resources for the benefit of future generations. The early leaders of Petronas genuinely understood that the nation's resource wealth was borrowed from those not yet born. That sense of stewardship deserves to be acknowledged,” he said in a posting on LinkedIn.
He noted that the country's economic landscape is changing and that, as other finite resources are extracted and exported, the logic of KWAN must extend. “I am optimistic that both sides of the House will approach this guided by the one principle that should unite everyone - that we owe our children a country with options, not remnants,” he said.
The Dewan Rakyat today passed the KWAN Bill 2026, which strengthens the legal basis of the fund through more consistent inflows, disciplined disbursements and clearer governance and accountability.
The bill, tabled by Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong, was passed with a majority of votes in favour after being debated by 14 Members of Parliament in the Dewan Rakyat today. In winding up the debate, Liew said KWAN group assets amounted to RM22.43 billion as at the end of 2024, with Petronas remaining the only voluntary contributor, amounting to RM13.5 billion after almost four decades since KWAN was established in 1988.
-- BERNAMA