Pembinaan PFI Sdn Bhd is a GLC that was reportedly created to implement private finance initiatives (PFI), a form of public-private partnership where public projects are financed by private concessionaires who then get repaid over the concession period.

In a statement, TI-M said the Pembinaan PFI scandal first surfaced in 2018 over debts allegedly amounting to RM50 billion. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had started a probe that year but no updates have been given since.

The anti-graft group cited a report by the Center to Combat Corruption & Cronyism (C4) on the issue in August, which stated that PFIs were to be solely managed by the Prime Minister’s Department’s public-private partnership unit.

“The report revealed that Pembinaan PFI obtained loans amounting to RM30 billion from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP).

“The collateral for the loans were government land parcels leased to Pembinaan PFI by the federal lands commissioner. Pembinaan PFI then sub-leased the same plots of land back to the federal lands commissioner for RM29 billion to repay the loan from EPF.

“When these purported PFIs are guaranteed and financed by government agencies, and funding is provided by banks mostly owned by government-linked investment companies (GLICs), one must ask if these projects are only ‘private’ in name to avoid accountability?”

“TI-M echoes the call from C4 and civil society for an RCI into this multi-billion ringgit scandal, with transparent disclosure to Parliament,” it said.

TI-M also urged MACC to reveal the outcome of its probe into the issue, saying the anti-graft agency should clear the GLC’s name if there was no wrongdoing.

It also questioned why the federal land commission and Pembinaan PFI had not given disclosures or updates on the high-value projects they have undertaken.

“Our pension and retirement funds are not a source of off-book financing for risky and questionable projects,” said TI-M president Muhammad Mohan.