He said he had asked in a parliamentary question to the finance minister whether the EPF already had specific projects amounting to the US$3 billion to US$4 billion specified by Najib during his recent trip to the US.
If so, he asked how much had been approved.
Pua said in a reply from the finance minister dated Oct 25, he “effectively confirmed” that EPF had made no such specific decision to invest the stated amounts to support infrastructure redevelopment in the US, contradicting Najib’s statement to Trump.
“The reply stated that every EPF investment is evaluated on a case-by-case basis on strict, disciplined and diligent criteria.
“The reply did try to play down the prime minister’s promises to the US president by claiming that what he said was ‘consistent with the long-term strategy of the EPF to increase its overseas investment, particularly in property and infrastructure’.
“The finance minister also tried to justify property and infrastructure projects as being relatively low-risk investments providing a relatively good rate of return.
“However, my question had absolutely nothing to do with what forms of investment provides better or safer returns,” the DAP national publicity secretary said in a statement.
During his trip to the US last month, Najib had told Trump that the EPF wanted to spend US$3 billion to US$4 billion on US infrastructure development.
His statement was heavily criticised by members of the opposition, with PPBM supreme council member Dr Rais Hussin asking how the Malaysian economy could strengthen the US economy when it was 62.65 times smaller.
Pua said Malaysians were relieved that the EPF would not be making any “rash” investments in the US, as it was not Malaysia’s job to “make America great again”.
He added that there were no objections to the EPF investing its funds overseas, as long as the risks were properly mitigated and the investments evaluated according to strict criteria.
“However, the above proves that our prime minister made empty promises to the US president. The question then is, why did Najib have to go out of his way to impress the Trump administration?
“The answer appears to be obvious. From his stay at the Trump Hotel to his boasts at the White House, the prime minister pulled out all stops to curry favour with the US president in hopes that the US government will go easy on the single largest anti-kleptocracy money-laundering seizure in the country,” he said.