KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has been actively involved in Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) proceedings concerning the Human Resources Development Corporation (HRD Corp).
PAC chairman Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin said the anti-graft agency is well aware of the issues as it is part of the committee.
The PAC’s extensive three-volume report on HRD Corp identifies the MACC as one of the permanent government representatives, or ex-officio members, of the committee.
The Hansard records for all ten proceedings held between October 2023 and March 2024 reveal the presence of several MACC officials throughout the investigations.
This development coincides with the submission of a report to the MACC by Human Resources Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud and HRD Corp chief executive officer Datuk Shahul Dawood, earlier today.
The report follows revelations from both the PAC and the Auditor-General’s (A-G) Report 2/2024.
At a press conference held at the Human Resources Ministry in Putrajaya, Khairul initially stated that the report relates to findings by the PAC and the A-G’s report. He later clarified that it encompasses “issues raised by the A-G as well as feedback from the ministry and HRD Corp.”
MACC has since confirmed it received from Khairul “information and several documents” related to the A-G’s report on HRD Corp.
The graft buster said it will scrutinise the documents to determine whether there were any elements of graft, misappropriation, or power abuse under the MACC Act 2009.
Both the A-G and PAC reports, which were tabled in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, looked into HRD Corp’s operations from 2019 to 2023.
Meanwhile, Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) founder Cynthia Gabriel told Scoop that while the MACC carries out its investigations based on a “complaints mechanism,” a more pertinent concern is the swiftness of its actions.
Urging for a complete overhaul and revamp of HRD Corp, Cynthia also called for HRD Corp’s current leaders to be replaced by competent people with integrity.
“The current human resources minister (Steven Sim) is well poised to make this a priority and undertake a comprehensive cleanup (of HRD Corp) while injecting proper accountability measures for the millions of funds involved.”
Khairul earlier today said no officers linked to HRD Corp have been suspended pending MACC probes, asserting that such steps are unnecessary as the corporation is under the enforcement agency’s scrutiny instead of an internal inquiry.
The A-G’s report recommended that the ministry take appropriate action against HRD Corp management by referring them to enforcement agencies, while the PAC suggested that the ministry reevaluate the power granted to the commission’s chief executive officer.
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, the PAC report wrote that HRD Corp’s management was found to have practised poor governance while undertaking suspicious procurement methods for real estate which could have caused the corporation to suffer losses.
HRD Corp used a total of RM3.77 billion in levies collected from employers for training development programmes to make investments worth RM3.84 billion at market value as of March 2024, the report said.
Besides the corporation failing to report its investment activities to its board of directors, its investment panel also did not include a representative from Bank Negara Malaysia since 2017, a violation of the Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Bhd Act 2001.
The PAC and A-G report are scheduled to be debated during the current Parliament session. – July 5, 2024