The government will be paying up to RM58.1 billion over five years off the books for nine government-owned companies under the Finance Ministry, from 2015 till 2020.

“Up till May 31, 2015, there are nine government-owned companies through Finance Ministry Incorporated, which have expenses classified as off balance sheet, which are paid for by the government.

“The yearly payments for 2015 till 2020 is between RM4.76 billion and RM11.62 billion,” the Finance Ministry said in a written reply yesterday.

This means the government will be paying between RM23.8 billion to RM58.1 billion off the books in that five-year period.

The ministry was responding to a question from Abd Aziz Sheikh Fadzir (BN-Kulim Bandar Baharu) regarding off balance sheet payments for government-owned companies such as Pembinaan PFI Sdn Bhd (PPFI) and Pembinaan BLT Sdn Bhd.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak ( photo ) is also the finance minister.

PPFI does not give out loans

Meanwhile, during Question and Answer time today, Deputy Finance Minister II Chua Tee Yong clarified that PPFI funds are only used to develop government buildings, and does not give out loans to private companies.

“PPFI's role is to get funds to fund identified projects, and does not give out loans to any companies,” he said.

Chua was responding to a question from Mohd Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz (DAP-Raub) ( photo ) on how many bumiputra firms had obtained loans from PPFI.

On a related note, Chua said PPFI had obtained its funds from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) with an interest rate of 3.8 percent and 4.6 percent respectively.