College staff turn to loan sharks after salaries unpaid for four months

PETALING JAYA: Employees of medical school Allianze University College Medical Sciences (AUCMS) are in dire financial straits as their salaries have allegedly not been paid in four months, with some turning to loan sharks in desperation.

An employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Star Online that most of the college's staff, both academic and administrative, had not been paid due to the college’s alleged financial woes.

He claimed that the situation escalated since Tabung Haji withdrew as its strategic partner on July 3, 2012.

"Some were forced to borrow from loan sharks as their applications for personal loans were rejected by the banks because of the employer’s reputation as a bad paymaster.

"Some employees, who are married to each other, have it worst. They cannot depend on each other financially," he said.

"Some have had to use their savings to survive, with some even selling their belongings," he added.

He also said the employer had failed to contribute to their Employees Provident Fund (EPF), income tax and Social Security Organisation (Socso) since Nov 2012.

He added reminders to the college administration had been given repeatedly, with "temporary" solutions such as allowances given.

"Many people, including myself, have stopped coming to work because of this. The Education Ministry and Human Resources Ministry should come forward and help us," he said.

He said the college now is now on the brink of ceasing operations if the lecturers decided to stop teaching altogether.

In an immediate reaction, AUCMS president Datuk Dr Zainuddin Md Wazir told The Star Online said that the situation was under control and the academic programmes are working as usual.

However, he admitted that they were going through some "financial hiccups" and would only reveal the college’s financial situation to the press once outstanding payments are made.

"We have found a solution and would make the payments, together with compensation, as early as next month.

"We truly understand the staff’s anxiety but I can assure you that business is running as usual over here," he said when contacted.

AUCMS is a private learning institution located at Kepala Batas, Penang that runs specialised courses of study in medicine, hospitality, tourism, sports science and allied health sciences.