KUALA LUMPUR – Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has confirmed that Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar will be summoned for proceedings, as part of the inquiry into the management and finances of the Human Resources Development Corporation (HRD Corp).
In a press conference in Parliament today, PAC chairman Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (Masjid Tanah-PN) said the committee will summon Sivakumar on November 2, as reported by Scoop.
She added that a Finance Ministry representative in HRD Corp will also be appearing before the PAC on November 1.
“The decision to summon both witnesses is because their names were mentioned during previous proceedings (on October 23) and this will be fair to them,” Mas Ermieyati said, calling on the witnesses to provide their cooperation to aid in the PAC’s investigation.
The Bersatu lawmaker added that PAC proceedings are conducted under Standing Order 85 of the Dewan Rakyat rules.
The rule states that evidence taken before any Select Committee and any documents presented to such a committee shall not be published by any member of such committee, or by any other person, before the committee has presented its report to the House.
Claiming that information obtained by the PAC during its proceedings are classified under the Official Secrets Act 1972, Mas Ermieyati referenced an article published by Scoop regarding PAC’s investigation into HRD Corp.
“I am disappointed with a news article by Scoop on October 24 with the headline ‘PAC bimbang kurang pemantauan dalam HRD Corp’ (quoting) unverified sources,” she said.
“I was also informed today that an article was published stating that Sivakumar will appear before the PAC on Monday, according to a source. The date cited is wrong as I am just now informing the media that the minister will be summoned on November 2.
“I hope all parties take note of this. This is clearly a violation of Standing Order 85. I hope that the media can be more responsible and careful in its reporting. Please get information from verified sources so that a bad perception is not presented to the public.”
For the record, Scoop’s Bahasa Malaysia story ‘PAC bimbang kurang pemantauan dalam HRD Corp’ was published on October 24, a day after the English version of the story was published.
In the story, a highly placed source told Scoop that the PAC is investigating various allegations of abuse of power and procedural wrongdoings within the institution that sits on an estimated RM2 billion, comprising employers’ contributions.
“The PAC were particularly interested to know how the HRD Corp leadership is making decisions without proper board oversight,” the source said.
The comment follows PAC quizzing two senior office-bearers – HRD Corp chief executive Datuk Shahul Dawood and Human Resources Ministry Deputy Secretary-General (Policy and International) Datuk Amran Ahmad – over how the corporation has been running without a chairman or full board since April.
Meanwhile, the second article referenced by Mas Ermieyati is believed to be a separate news report by a different news portal, in which it was reported that Sivakumar and a representative from the Finance Ministry will be summoned on Monday.
On October 21, Scoop reported that a governance framework report, that is meant to prevent future mismanagement and misappropriation, had been removed from the corporation’s system and kept from the current board.
An audit on the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) – before it was renamed HRD Corp, as it is known today – was ordered by then-human resources minister M. Kulasegaran in 2018, but the report, according to Kulasegaran, is no longer accessible since his departure from the ministry in 2020.
The present leadership of HRD Corp has also been accused of misleading the board on its proposed Skills Passport initiative, where the Finance Ministry found discrepancies in a contract procurement valued at between RM53 million and RM159.47 million a year. – October 26, 2023