In a statement, MACC said it obtained relevant documents from HRD Corp and the human resources ministry today as part of its probe into the issues outlined in the 2024 auditor-general’s (A-G) report, which was released last Thursday.
“Our initial analysis has identified 12 criticisms that were highlighted in the report. However, the primary focus of MACC’s investigation is on the criminal elements as contained in the MACC Act 2009,” the anti-graft agency said.
“It should be clarified that MACC’s investigation is not focused on issues of mismanagement and regulatory inconsistencies as these matters have already been addressed by HRD Corp during its ‘exit conference’ with the national audit department.”
An exit conference is a process during which those who are audited are given the chance to provide feedback or responses to the auditors’ findings.
Earlier today, MACC investigation division senior director Hishamuddin Hashim said the anti-graft agency’s investigation is focused on corruption, abuse of power, and misappropriation of funds.
Hishamuddin said no individuals had been summoned to give their statements but he did not not rule out the possibility that witnesses would be called after MACC had reviewed the documents they collected.
An agency under the human resources ministry, HRD Corp is responsible for driving Malaysia’s talent development through the collection of levies from employers, which is used to fund training and development programmes for the Malaysian workforce.
The A-G’s report recommended that the ministry refer HRD Corp’s management to enforcement agencies after it uncovered issues such as a questionable RM120 million property deal and poor governance in HRD Corp’s investments of RM3.727 billion – which resulted in unrealised losses of RM49.38 million from 29 investment transactions.
Among the other revelations in the A-G’s report were that HRD Corp’s investment panel failed to report substantial investment activities to its board of directors.
The A-G also flagged a suspicious disbursement of training grants, totalling RM51.69 million, to 3,726 individuals who attended training multiple times under the Gerak Insan Gemilang scheme.
The report also said 234 participants in the scheme were flagged as suspicious for having identical names and identification numbers.
In the report, auditor-general Wan Suraya Wan Radzi described HRD Corp’s corporate governance as “unsatisfactory”, adding that its management’s decisions “did not follow procedures and did not protect its interests to achieve its objectives”.