Third-party audit on HRD Corp soon

PETALING JAYA: The Human Resources Ministry will appoint a third party to carry out an independent audit on Human Resource Development Corporation (HRD Corp), says Steven Sim.

“The ministry will appoint an auditor by the end of the month to examine all processes, documentation and compliance with laws as well as guidelines raised in the recent Auditor-General and Public Accounts Committee (PAC) reports.

“The procurement process to appoint the auditor is ongoing. The duration of the audit and report publication will be determined after the appointment,” the Human Resources Minister said in a statement yesterday.

He added that the audit would be concurrent with the investigations being carried out by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and other relevant parties.

“All HRD Corp authorities have been instructed to fully cooperate with the investigations,” he said.“A special task force will be set up to facilitate the investigations and review the reports and findings from MACC as well as the independent audit.

“This is also for follow-up actions, including improvements that will be fully implemented.”

The task force is chaired by Human Resources Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud.

Findings from the Auditor-General and PAC reports were tabled in Parliament on July 4.

It was found that HRD Corp had invested levies it collected from employers in several high-risk investments despite the training fund not being an investment institution.

HRD Corp chairman Datuk Abu Huraira Abu Yazid acknowledged the shortcomings found in the audit reports, adding that the training fund had implemented several improvements, which helped increase levy collection over the years.

Calls for its chief executive Datuk Shahul Hameed Dawood to step down were made in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday.