DEPUTY Prime Minister (DPM) Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof says the “bonus” paid to Pelaburan Hartanah Bhd (PHB), despite not meeting its key performance indicator (KPI) for 2023, was actually a special payment, akin to an incentive aimed at increasing avenues for growth.

In his winding-up speech for the Energy Transition and Water Transformation Ministry yesterday, Fadillah explained that the payment was due to PHB recording an “increase in gross profit and cooperative earnings” for financial year 2023.

“We can see that PHB implemented corporate transformation as a foundation for long-term growth. That is why an incentive was paid—not because it was a bonus, but because of the achievements PHB made,” he told Dewan Rakyat.

Fadillah also justified the RM50,000 “sponsorship” for an alumni dinner hosted by the CEO’s former school, stating that it was a marketing exercise.

He explained that it was one of the methods used to increase subscriptions to the Amanah Hartanah Bumiputera (AHB) unit trust.

“The alumni association dinner, which was held on Feb 17, was not just about sponsorship, but also served as a programme for PHB to market its AHB unit trusts.

“During that event alone, more than 500,000 units were purchased by the alumni,” he said.Previously, Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin called for an investigation into governance practices at PHB following concerns over the company’s executive bonuses and spending.

It was reported that PHB’s CEO received a RM210,000 bonus, equivalent to three months’ salary, despite the company achieving only 42% of its KPI.

Mas Ermieyati, who is also Masjid Tanah MP, said PHB had initially planned an overseas luxury holiday for employees, but the trip was swiftly cancelled after public backlash on social media.

“While offering benefits to employees can boost morale, it’s troubling that such perks were withdrawn only after public scrutiny,” she said during the Budget 2025 debate. — TMR