In its report on the Human Resources Development Corp (HRD Corp), which falls under the Ministry of Human Resources, THE Auditor-General’s (A-G) Department has requested government action, citing the company’s audit failure.
A-G Datuk Wan Suraya Wan Mohd Radzi recommended the ministry to report HRD Corp.’s management to appropriate authorities for mismanagement in its most recent report, which was published on 4 July.
“The ministry must take the necessary action against HRD Corp’s management on the identified mismanagement by referring the matter to the relevant enforcement agency,” she said in the report.
Auditors also discovered that hundreds of millions of ringgit had been mismanaged for investments, training grants, and real estate purchases, among other things.
Over RM50 million in training grants were repeatedly given to the same people. Therefore, the auditors labeled over 200 of them as “suspicious.”
From 2020 to 2023, 234 “suspicious” grantees received funding under Skim Gerak Insan Gemilang.
In certain circumstances, there were many occurrences of the same name but distinct identity card numbers. Which led to them being labeled as “suspicious.” In other cases, the same identity card number was used for different names.
“As a whole, the corporate governance of HRD Corp is unsatisfactory. Decisions made by HRD Corp management did not follow procedures and did not protect its interests to achieve its objectives,” said the report.
The period covered by the audit is 2019–2023.
2020 saw the appointment of Datuk Shahul Hameed Sheikh Dawood as CEO of HRD Corp.
Additionally, the auditors discovered that HRD Corp.’s RM3.73 billion worth of investments had inadequate governance. Which led to RM49.38 million in unrealized losses.
The Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF), a combined fund made up of employer levy contributions. Which also provided the investment money.
The HRDF treasury announced on 10 October 2023 that the publicly traded company was experiencing a slump. It also had problems with liquidity. Six days later, the CEO of HRD Corp wrote to the minister, claiming that the same company was stable and might bounce back.
