'Bewildering' for MACC to drop case against HRD Corp: PAC
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said it was bewildered by the MACC’s decision to not pursue further action against Human Resources Development Corporation (HRD Corp) after an investigation.
This comes despite the Auditor-General’s Department urging the Human Resources Ministry to refer the management of HRD Corp to the relevant enforcement agencies after the government entity failed its audit.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said it was bewildered by the MACC’s decision to not pursue further action against Human Resources Development Corporation (HRD Corp) after an investigation.
This comes despite the Auditor-General’s Department urging the Human Resources Ministry to refer the management of HRD Corp to the relevant enforcement agencies after the government entity failed its audit.
“This is bewildering as the auditor-general has stated there is an element of criminality or abuse of power in HRD Corp.
“In fact, through our 10 proceedings from October 2023 until March 2024, we found elements of abuse of power,” said PAC in a statement today.
This was revealed in the PAC report on HRD Corp released today.
‘No offence committed’
During proceedings, MACC investigation officer told the committee that the graft-buster found no wrongdoing in its investigation.
“The Investigation Department has opened investigation papers on this. Based on the investigation, we found no offence was committed under the MACC Act 2009. Thus, we have forwarded the relevant information to the Inspection and Consultation Department (Bahagian Pemeriksaan dan Tatakelola),” he said.
HRD Corp landed in hot water after the Auditor-General’s Department recommended that the Human Resources Ministry refer the company to the relevant enforcement agencies after it failed its audit.
Separately, the PAC revealed that HRD Corp had utilised RM3.77 billion in levies collected from employers for training development programmes for various investments that did not align with its original purpose.
The Human Resources Ministry lodged a report to the MACC on July 5, which then formed a special investigation team to probe HRD Corp.
Frustration
Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin also expressed PAC’s frustration with the Human Resources Ministry’s delayed action in making HRD Corp a statutory body and amending the Human Resources Development Act 2001.
In his written statement, the PAC member pointed out that it is perplexing that the ministry is unaware of PAC’s recommendation on this matter, especially since it was PAC’s first suggestion.
He further emphasised that this lack of awareness indicates that the ministry has not taken PAC’s recommendations seriously.
“We have urged the ministry to amend the act due to several gaps, one of the most notable being the position of the Bank Negara Malaysia representative on HRD Corp’s Investment Committee,” Sim said.
“This issue has been ongoing for 14 years and has yet to be addressed in this chamber for improvement.”
Sim also stated that all PAC recommendations concerning the gaps in the act should be brought before the House in the upcoming session, and immediate steps should be taken to ensure proper governance of HRD Corp.
