KUALA LUMPUR (June 14): Deputy Local Government Development Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said there are 13 projects under PR1MA Corp Malaysia (PR1MA) that are still abandoned.

“Out of the total 22 projects that have not yet obtained a certificate of completion and compliance (CCC) or are still under construction, 13 are abandoned projects,” Akmal Nasrullah told Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (June 14).

Against the 21 abandoned PR1MA projects the unity government inherited from the previous administration, the Johor Baru Member of Parliament (MP) said the ministry has recovered nine abandoned projects in a six-month period.

He added the ministry aims to recover the remaining abandoned PR1MA projects by end-2024.

Breaking down the projects under construction by states, there are five under construction in Sabah, followed by three in Melaka, Selangor (2), Penang (2), Pahang (2), Negeri Sembilan (2), Kedah (2), Kelantan (2), Johor (1), and the Federal Territory (1).

Meanwhile, Akmal Nasrullah said 54 PR1MA projects have been successfully completed — received a CCC — with four still pending handover.

He explained that while a project’s construction is deemed as completed after obtaining a CCC, it is still required to undergo inspection and repair works to amend any defects prior to being handed over to buyers.

The deputy local government development minister was responding to a question posed by Alor Setar MP Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden in regards to the number of PR1MA housing projects yet to be handed over to buyers, as well as the reason behind the pending handover.

In a supplementary question, Afnan Hamimi said he was informed of around 100 buyers being scammed by fraud schemes utilising PR1MA’s logo and name, and quizzed whether the ministry knew of these incidences and their actions in response to it.

Akmal Nasrullah said the ministry is aware of instances of scams impersonating PR1MA and reminded that these actions are a criminal offence and should be reported to the police.

“For potential buyers who may be interested in PR1MA projects I advise them to check directly with either PR1MA’s website and to not trust third-party links which may be found on Facebook, Twitter and so on,” he said.

This story has been updated with the correct estimated date the abandoned PR1MA housing projects will be recovered.