LARGE sums of money were diverted from the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) and used to buy properties and give financial perks to a selected few, said the Human Resources Minister today.

“This was done without the knowledge of the board of directors,” said M Kulasegaran in conjunction with the HRDF Governance Oversight Committee (GOC) report in Kuala Lumpur.

The report also highlighted that money from HRDF was used to pay large salaries and bonuses to selected personnel, apart from also buying properties, said Kulasegaran.

He said that several previous directors did not disclose their personal interests to the board.

“We will institute civil and criminal proceedings against some of them,” he added.

The minister said his ministry will also accept the committee’s recommendation for the discontinuance of 30% levy deduction from employers to the Kumpulan Wang Pembangunan Sumber Manusia.

“The final payment will be effective Nov 15 and the final levy contribution will be in October,” said Kulasegaran.

He said the GOC had highlighted the lack of transparency in the usage of the levies collected.

The report also highlighted the need for stricter due diligence of procedures, the setting up of a board programme committee to review existing training programmes, revise limits of authority of the chief executive and amendments to the PSMB Act 2001.

The report was followed with a town hall meeting with employer associations and registered employers.

The GOC is led by former MITI director-general Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria, former Ernst & Young director Fiona Soh, lawyer Fahri Azzat, accountant S Dhamodaran and former journalist R Nadeswaran. – November 10, 2018.