THE axe has fallen on five officers attached to Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar whose ministry has come under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) spotlight over the migrant workers’ recruitment process, malaysiakini reported.

The news portal, quoting sources, said five officers had their contracts terminated while another was transferred to the Public Service Department.

“They include two officers who were recently detained by the MACC,” a source was quoted as saying.

They have been terminated with immediate effect as part of Putrajaya’s move to clean up the ministry after recent allegations of corruption and abuse of power on the foreign workers recruitment process.

“Some of them had their contracts terminated because of the MACC probe, while others were for poor performance,” the source added.

Last month, the MACC arrested Sivakumar’s two close aides and had raided the ministry in Putrajaya as part of its investigations into allegations of corruption in the migrant workers’ recruitment process.

Its minister was also summoned for questioning.

Following that, Sivakumar suspended three of his senior aides, including the two officers detained by the MACC.

Of the three, one officer remained in suspension after being released, while the other two had taken leave from work pending completion of the MACC probe.

Two of them have since been terminated.

A check at the ministry’s website showed the two aides who were arrested by MACC last month remain listed as ministerial staff.  – May 4, 2023.