KUALA LUMPUR: Graft investigators will examine the legality of investments made by the Human Resources Development Corporation using the levies it collected from employers.
Sources said this was among the matters that will be looked into after Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission officers collected documents at the Human Resources Ministry and HRD Corp, which is under the purview of the ministry, today (July 9).
"The MACC will examine the extent to which the investment is legal and whether it is allowed.
"MACC will scrutinise the documents obtained before taking further action, including recording statements of relevant witnesses," the source said.
HRD Corp's investments were flagged by the Public Accounts Committee last week.
The bi-partisan parliamentary panel said HRD Corp had used a total of RM3.77 billion in levies collected from employers to make several investments despite it not being an investment body.
The levy was supposed to fund skill training programmes for workers.
MACC investigators were seen entering the Human Resources Ministry in Putrajaya at 11.20am and left about an hour later.
Several individuals believed to be MACC investigators were seen arriving at the HRD Corp headquarter at Jalan Beringin here about 11.30am.
At press time, they have yet to leave the building.
Alleged irregularities in HRD Corp's activities were also flagged in the Auditor General 's Report tabled in the Dewan Rakyat last week.
The AG said 3,726 people attended skills training courses organised by HRD Corp under a Covid-19 stimulus package more than once, involving a cost of RM51.69 million.
It said some people attended up to 16 courses.
This violated a Finance Ministry directive that a person could attend only one course.
Subsequently, Human Resources Minister Steven Sim instructed the ministry's secretary-general, Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud, and HRD Corp chief executive Datuk Shahul Dawood, to lodge report with the MACC regarding the findings.