The Protect Karpal Singh Drive action committee (ProtectKarpal) urges the Penang Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to expand its investigation into the Jelutong landfill joint development agreement.
This comes after former chief minister Lim Guan Eng reportedly claimed that PLB Engineering Berhad owes the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) RM20m in unpaid project management fees, on top of PLB’s own audited reports showing three consecutive years of “going concern” warnings.
This is no longer only about the rejection of the environmental impact assessment, project delays or reclamation. It is now a direct question of whether the PDC, as a state statutory body, protected public assets when dealing with a developer that allegedly failed to pay annual fees while also carrying repeated financial red flags in its audited accounts.
ProtectKarpal has submitted a supplementary complaint asking the PAC to investigate the PDC’s governance and risk management of the 2020 Jelutong landfill joint development agreement.
The latest public allegation by Lim makes that investigation even more urgent.
According to media reports, Lim urged the PDC to sue PLB Engineering Bhd for over RM20m in alleged unpaid project management fees.
He reportedly said PLB was required to pay RM5m annually under the joint development agreement, had paid only once in 2021, and had not paid for four years from 2022.
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He also questioned why the PDC had waited more than four years without taking legal action, when the PDC would normally act against tenants after several months of arrears.
If these allegations are accurate, they raise a serious public question: why was the PDC considering recommendations on the future of the project when it may also be a creditor awaiting payment from the same developer?
“This is exactly why PAC must investigate,” said Dr K Ganesh, the chairperson of ProtectKarpal and the Bandar Sri Pinang Pulau Pinang Residents’ Association.
“If PLB allegedly owes PDC RM20m, while PLB’s own auditor raised “going concern” warnings for three consecutive years, the public deserves to know why extensions were still entertained and what enforcement action was taken.”
ProtectKarpal does not allege insolvency or wrongdoing by PLB. Nor do we assume the RM20m allegation has been legally determined.
Our position is simple: these are serious financial governance questions involving a state statutory body, public land, a public coastline and a reportedly RM1bn public interest agreement. They must not be left to internal explanation.
PLB’s audited annual reports for 2023, 2024 and 2025 contained a “Material Uncertainty Related to Going Concern” warnings by its external auditor, Grant Thornton Malaysia PLT.
In 2023, PLB recorded a group net loss of RM28.0m, while group current liabilities exceeded current assets by RM82.4m.
In 2024, PLB recorded a group net loss of RM12.8m, while group current liabilities exceeded current assets by RM54.8m.
In 2025, the company incurred a net loss of RM17.5m, while the company’s current liabilities exceeded current assets by RM71.2m.
These figures matter because the Jelutong joint development agreement is not a private commercial deal hidden from public consequence.
It involves the PDC, the Penang state government, landfill rehabilitation, possible reclamation, Karpal Singh Drive, Middle Bank and communities living beside the long-unrehabilitated Jelutong landfill.
Residents of Bandar Sri Pinang and Jelutong have waited for years for a safe, credible solution to landfill risks: fire, gas emissions, leachate, odour, land instability and public health uncertainty. They should not be asked to carry additional risk from a project whose financial governance remains unclear.
“Residents support safe landfill rehabilitation. But rehabilitation cannot become a cover for weak enforcement, unpaid fees, repeated extensions and undisclosed risk,” said Ganesh.
“If PDC is owed RM20m, the public must know why recovery action was not taken earlier.”
ProtectKarpal asks the PAC to investigate five urgent questions:
- Did PLB owe the PDC RM20m in unpaid project management fees, as reportedly claimed by Lim?
- If so, when did the arrears begin, what invoices or notices were issued, and why was legal action not taken earlier?
- Was the Penang state executive council informed of the alleged unpaid fees before considering any further extension or continuation of the joint development agreement?
- Did the PDC conduct fresh financial due diligence after PLB’s 2023, 2024 and 2025 “going concern” audit warnings?
- Did the PDC’s possible position as project manager, recommender and alleged creditor create a governance conflict that required an independent review?
ProtectKarpal also calls on the PAC to require the state government and the PDC to produce the full joint development agreement, all project management fee clauses, invoices, payment records, demand letters, legal opinions, extension of time papers, PDC board minutes, executive council papers, performance bonds, guarantees and financial due diligence reports.
The Pulau Burung precedent should also be reviewed. Penang has already seen a landfill-related project involving PLB Terang Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of PLB Engineering Berhad, end in termination and a RM35m transfer or settlement arrangement.
That history makes it even more important to examine whether the PDC applied proper risk safeguards in the Jelutong joint development agreement.
ProtectKarpal calls on the PDC and the Penang state government to publicly clarify the alleged RM20m unpaid fees within seven days, and to support a full PAC inquiry before any further extension, variation, settlement or continuation of the joint development agreement is considered.
The people of Penang deserve landfill rehabilitation. They also deserve to know whether public money, public land and public trust have been properly protected. – Protect Karpal
Sources:
PLB Engineering Berhad 2025 Annual Report:
https://plb.com.my/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/PLB-AR2025.Bursa_.pdf
PLB Engineering Berhad 2024 Annual Report:
https://plb.com.my/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/PLB-AR2024.pdf
PLB Engineering Berhad 2023 Annual Report:
https://plb.com.my/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PLB-AR2023.pdf
The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.
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