In a statement, the Labour Solidarity and Learning Resources Association (LLRC) said the ministry should suspend HRD Corp officers to prevent them from “tampering with evidence”.

“LLRC also calls on the human resources ministry to take immediate action and conduct an internal investigation,” LLRC secretary-general Gopal Kishnam Nadesan said.

He said it was standard practice to place employees on garden leave when an investigation is being carried out.

Garden leave ensures that any links to a probe would be eliminated, Gopal said.

“This way, when one is cleared of any wrongdoing, there is no room for lingering doubts.”

On Friday, the ministry’s secretary-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud said suspensions would only be imposed if the ministry launched an internal investigation into the matter.

“Since the investigation is being conducted by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), there is no need for any (HRD Corp) officer to be suspended,” he was reported as saying by Bernama.

The 2024 auditor-general’s (A-G) report recommended that the human resources ministry refer HRD Corp’s management to the enforcement agencies after the actions and decisions of its management did not comply with procedures and had failed to “protect the interests necessary” for achieving HRD Corp’s objectives.

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

Earlier today, MACC officers visited the HRD Corp office and the human resources ministry, where it seized documents in relation to its probe into possible misappropriation.