KUALA LUMPUR: The suspension of several members of the Human Resources Development Corporation (HRD Corp) is not a "clean-up", says Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri R. Ramanan.
He added that only qualified people will fill the positions during its restructuring, even if they belong to political parties.
He said that HRDCorp must complete ongoing investigations of alleged misconduct by the suspended individuals before implementing improvements; and the restructuring is expected to finish in mid-March.
Speaking to the media after launching the MyFutureJobs Career Exploration Centre at Nu Sentral here on Monday (Feb 23), Ramanan was asked to comment on the Feb 6 and 21 suspensions.
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"Regarding this suspension issue, whether there was misconduct or not, we will let the investigation be completed first.
"We are currently making improvements. If some people say this is a 'clean-up' or something like that, that is not true. We are upgrading.
"We are making sure we are putting all the correct tools in place so that no problems will arise in the future.
"Previously, many issues were raised and investigated. Furthermore, the National Audit Department’s report still showed many disputes.
"So, to correct all of this, we must make some changes. I am confident there will be improvements in governance as well as in the operations of programs and initiatives under HRD Corp.
"So far, we have made appointments, (among them) a former CEO of a government-linked company commission. Another is a former deputy Treasury secretary-general. That is the kind of people we are putting in place.
"I’m not saying that we cannot appoint someone from a political party. If (there is) someone... qualified (who) can carry out their duties properly according to governance standards and the requirements under HRD Corp regulations, then there is no problem. But at the moment, there are none.
ALSO READ: Three more suspended in HRD Corp governance reset
On Feb 6, HRD Corp announced the suspension of three top management members based on findings in reports from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the Auditor-General and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
On Saturday (Feb 21), three more members of the management team were suspended.
HRD Corp chief executive officer Datuk Mohamed Shamir Abdul Aziz had said the suspensions were merely a procedural measure to preserve the independence of an ongoing internal review.
The agency, among the biggest in the country, has been hit by allegations of abuse of funds and power.
Ramanan had said that HRD Corp is set to go through a major restructuring exercise which includes a refresh of its board and a review of 7,000 training providers.
Among new appointments to the HRD Corp board are International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance University president and CEO Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Mohd Azmi Omar, former Cooperatives Commission of Malaysia CEO Datuk Rusli Jaafar and Mydin managing director Datuk Ameer Ali Mydin Mohamed.
