HRD Corp CEO Shamir Aziz said the suspensions were procedural steps to guarantee the independence of an ongoing internal probe, and did not conclude that the trio had committed any wrongdoing.
He added that the company’s internal review has already identified areas where there needed to be tighter internal controls, clearer reporting mechanisms and enhanced compliance oversight.
“The move highlights the organisation’s commitment to raising governance standards and ensuring that national workforce development resources are administered with transparency, efficiency and accountability.
“Strong governance is fundamental to business confidence. Employers expect clarity, predictability and disciplined stewardship. We are strengthening our systems to ensure that HRD Corp consistently delivers on that expectation,” he said in a statement.
Shamir added that HRD Corp’s services are not affected by the internal probe while due process will be ensured throughout.
Earlier this month, HRD Corp suspended three members of its top management following reports released by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the auditor-general (A-G) as well as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.
This concerned the management of the government-linked company’s (GLC) unutilised levies, the acquisition of Menara Ikhlas and HRD Corp’s equity investment management.
HRD Corp said it also involved the recent discovery of a “new core system” which entailed a RM14 million procurement that had seen a four-year delay after three unsuccessful user acceptance tests.
The 2024 A-G’s report had recommended that the human resources ministry refer HRD Corp’s management to enforcement agencies after the GLC failed its audit.
It said the actions and decisions of its management did not comply with procedure and failed to protect the interests necessary for achieving HRD Corp’s objectives.
The 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.
The findings of MACC’s investigation were presented to HRD Corp in May last year, to help improve its practices, systems and procedures.