KUALA LUMPUR – Human Resource Development Corp’s (HRD Corp) letter of demand to a media organisation is an attempt to undermine the credibility of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the auditor-general (A-G), said committee chair Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin.
She also took HRD Corp to task for its “heavy-handed” approach towards The Edge Communications Sdn Bhd, saying the PAC had reported on bigger issues, such as those involving 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), in 2016.
“This is the first time this (letter of demand) has happened. PAC previously reported on bigger issues than HRD Corp, such as 1MDB, which was owned by Minister of Finance (Inc) in 2016.
“Even then, they had never sued the media, instead, the organisation took our recommendations and worked hard to recover its assets,” she said in a press conference in Parliament today.
She also condemned HRD Corp’s legal actions, saying the PAC viewed them as an “attempt to pressure the media to not report on our findings”.
“We view this as HRD Corp’s attempts to prevent The Edge from carrying out its duty and an attempt to ‘weaken’ our credibility.
“The HRD Corp management must be reminded that the PAC has been established since 1959 and all our reports and findings are based on witness statements given during our proceedings. The PAC is a parliamentary select committee that holds the most power compared to other committees.”
Mas Ermieyati added that HRD Corp’s attempt to sue The Edge was against the government’s principle of check and balance as well as of being open to constructive criticism for improved governance.
“The PAC decided to investigate HRD Corp because it is a matter of public interest, and the corporation collected levies which are taxpayers’ money, so we need to ensure it is spent accordingly.
“During the 10 proceedings held between October 23, 2023 and March 12, 2024, the committee had taken three days and more than 50 hours to prepare the report and recommendations.
“We do not produce this report arbitrarily. Seven government agencies were involved, including the Finance Ministry, A-G, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Accountant-General’s Department, Economy Ministry and the Public Service Department, so the report we produced is very comprehensive.
“HRD Corp directors and the Human Resources Ministry have to explain their actions, especially since the corporation has fiduciary duty on their actions.”
Earlier, she demanded that HRD Corp retract its letter of demand.
At the same time, Human Resources Minister Steven Sim said he instructed HRD Corp to retract its letter of demand.
He told a press conference in Parliament today that HRD Corp should not have issued the letter in the first place, as the media was only reporting the facts as outlined in the recent PAC report.
“I do not agree with this action of suing the media because I do believe in media freedom in this country. It has always been my principle even before I became part of the government.
“So, when I received information (about the letter of demand), I instructed HRD Corp to retract it and I would like to say that it had been retracted yesterday, prior to the PAC’s press conference.”
Yesterday, HRD Corp served a letter of demand to The Edge, accusing the news site of “unfairly, deliberately, maliciously and recklessly” publishing two articles titled “PAC flags dubious property deals by HRD Corp” and “Frankly Speaking: Total breach of governance at HRD Corp”.
Although the findings by the PAC and the A-G were reported by other media organisations, HRD Corp, in its letter of demand, claimed that The Edge tarnished the reputation of its appointed officials and staff in its articles.
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 board approval.
Similarly, the 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.
Yesterday, the PAC also said it had given HRD Corp three months to present follow-up actions taken following the recommendations presented in the committee’s report. – July 17, 2024