KUALA LUMPUR – The Human Resources Ministry will not spare individuals found to be complicit in irregularities within the Human Resources Development Corporation (HRD Corp), said minister Steven Sim (Bukit Mertajam-PH).
Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat today, Sim vowed to take action against those who are found to have played a role in the mismanagement of the government-linked entity, as revealed by the Auditor-General’s Report 2/2024 and Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
“I do not intend to point fingers or protect anyone, much less those who are guilty… if investigations (into HRD Corp) lead to any guilty individual, I will not hesitate to take action, even if the person is a minister, deputy minister or senior management.”
During his winding-up speech for debates on the A-G report, Sim referenced the ministry’s decision to submit a report to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over the audit findings.
Also spotted in the lower House during Sim’s speech was HRD Corp chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Shahul Dawood, who has faced calls from lawmakers urging for his suspension amid the MACC probe.
In response to PKR lawmaker Hassan Abdul Karim’s (Pasir Gudang-PH) question on whether the ministry will also take alleged irregularities in HRD Corp to the police, Sim said that while the matter will be considered, other measures have been implemented to ensure accountability.
“Currently, we have already made a report with MACC, the highest anti-graft agency in the nation, and ordered an independent audit (on HRD Corp), which is something that has never been done by other ministries for agencies (investigated by) the A-G and PAC.”
Earlier today, Sim said he has instructed for an independent audit to be carried out by a third-party auditor on HRD Corp’s operations from 2019 to 2023.
He also said the ministry has formed a special task force chaired by its secretary-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud to facilitate ongoing investigations, and to study the A-G and PAC report.
This comes after MACC yesterday said it was probing HRD Corp for criminal elements after visiting the corporation’s office in Jalan Beringin to obtain documents for its probe on discrepancies highlighted in the A-G report.
The A-G’s report on HRD Corp recommended that the Human Resources Ministry take appropriate action against the corporation’s management by referring them to enforcement agencies.
The audit report highlighted several concerns, including how the corporation had amended its key performance indicator goals for 2020-2023 without the approval of its board of directors.
The actions and decisions by HRD Corp’s management, the audit report said, did not comply with procedures and failed to protect the interests necessary to achieve the corporation’s objectives.
Similarly, PAC’s three-volume report on the corporation found, among others, that HRD Corp’s management practised poor governance while undertaking suspicious procurement methods for real estate, potentially causing the corporation to suffer losses.
During Sim’s winding-up speech today, Deputy Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Ramli Mohd Nor (Cameron Highlands-BN) also made a suggestion for a law to legally require the A-G and relevant ministers to lodge reports with the police and MACC based on audit findings.
Such a law, the deputy speaker said, could help prevent missing evidence amid delays in enforcement action. – July 10, 2024