“There was a need to support the Orang Asli community with a learning and development facility.

“However, the decisions on where to establish the centre, the scale of the renovation, and the financial expenditures were made entirely by the HRD Corp board,” Saravanan told FMT.

Earlier today, Malaysiakini reported that HRD Corp’s RM1.5 million renovation of a community centre in Tapah was driven by its location in the then human resources minister’s parliamentary constituency.

HRD Corp chief executive Shahul Hamid Shaik Dawood told the Public Accounts Committee the choice of Tapah was influenced by the need to support the Orang Asli community with a learning and development facility.

However, under questioning, he acknowledged that Tapah being the then minister’s constituency was a factor in the decision.

Shahul said the renovated centre was intended to provide internet access and educational resources to the Orang Asli, who lacked these facilities in their residential areas.

He said future projects might be considered in other areas with sufficient budget.

HRD Corp COO Ariff Farhan Doss was quoted as saying that the project might have had electoral motivations.

He said HRD Corp had been operating programmes in Tapah for two years without requiring a dedicated building, and that the company was given a tight six-month deadline to complete the renovations before the general election.

Ariff also criticised the high expenditure, highlighting costly features such as RM100,000 screens that remain largely unused.