PETALING JAYA: The anti-graft investigation into the Human Resource Development Corporation (HRD Corp) is still ongoing, said Tan Sri Azam Baki.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner clarified that investigations cover several aspects of HRD Corp's operations.
He said that a recent report by a news portal, which stated that no wrongdoing was found, was based on what was told to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) by an officer of the Commission.
“However, the officer may have been referring to just one part of our investigations, which covers several aspects,” said Azam.
“We opened up a few files against HRDC. All investigations are still ongoing and I have directed my officers to inform PAC that the officer may have been referring to one of the files," he added.
Azam said this when speaking to reporters after closing the national-level International Anti-Corruption Day celebration on Monday (Dec 9).
He was asked to clarify news reports that said that the MACC had cleared HRD Corp of wrongdoing based on what was said by the Commission's officer when called up by the PAC.
On July 5, the Human Resource Ministry handed over documents linked to audit reports on the Human Resource Development Corporation, which will be studied for elements of corruption, said the MACC.
The MACC set up a task force to initiate a probe, which included hauling up 10 individuals during investigations to find any weaknesses in governance.
This included visiting the corporation's headquarters in Bukit Damansara to retrieve documents for the probe.
Suspicious real estate deals and high-risk investments were some of the issues identified by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in its report on HRD Corp.
One such deal was the purchase of Menara Ikhlas for RM202.5mil in February 2021, where a deposit of RM120mil was paid upfront to a company named Crystal Clear Technology.
Meanwhile, HRD Corp chief executive officer Datuk Shahul Hameed Shaik Dawood, who took voluntary leave in July to facilitate the probe, has returned to work.
