Suspended top officials at HRD Corp still under internal probe

PETALING JAYA: The six members of Human Resource Development Corporation’s (HRD Corp) top management who were suspended earlier this year are still undergoing an internal investigation.

Human resources minister R Ramanan said disciplinary action against the six had begun, but that the outcome would depend on the results of the probe.

“HRD Corp will take the appropriate follow-up and legal action based on the investigation’s findings. HRD Corp has guaranteed that the whole process will be conducted fairly and transparently.

“We will not compromise with any form of wrongdoing or breach of the law,” he said in a written parliamentary reply to Yeo Bee Yin (PH-Puchong).

The six senior officials were suspended following reports released by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), auditor-general (A-G), and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission flagging alleged mismanagement.

The reports concerned the management of the government-linked company’s unutilised levies, the acquisition of Menara Ikhlas, and HRD Corp’s equity investment management.

The 2024 A-G’s report recommended that the human resources ministry refer HRD Corp’s management to enforcement agencies after the GLC failed its audit.

PAC, meanwhile, revealed that the company’s investment panel had not reported its investment activities appropriately to its board of directors, with collected levies “aggressively” used for high-risk investments.

However, in December 2024, it was reported that MACC had cleared HRD Corp’s management of wrongdoing, saying no offence under the MACC Act was committed.

Ramanan said HRD Corp had formed an investigation committee involving the head of his ministry’s integrity unit to look into the PAC, A-G, and MACC reports.

He said the GLC restructured its investment portfolio with the goal of capital preservation and long-term fiscal security, while a new investment panel was formed comprising figures with extensive experience in investments, finance, and risk management.

“So far this year, HRD Corp has successfully recovered investments worth RM270.72 million through the restructuring plan and a more disciplined portfolio management.

“This has reduced the GLC’s exposure to high-risk assets from 21.6% to 13.5% of total assets under its purview,” said the minister.