KUALA LUMPUR: The Human Resources Ministry has not suspended officials from the Human Resource Development Corporation (HRD Corp) following findings in the Auditor General's Report and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), presented in Parliament yesterday.
The ministry's secretary-general, Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud, said today that such action would only be taken if the ministry conducts an internal investigation into the matter.
"There is no temporary suspension of officials. Temporary suspension only occurs if there is an internal or domestic inquiry.
"Since this is an investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), there is no need for any officials to be suspended or temporarily relieved of duties," he told a press conference.
Earlier, Khairul Dzaimee said the ministry had submitted a report to the MACC regarding issues highlighted in the Auditor General's Report and PAC.
He said the move was in line with recommendations by the auditor general (Datuk Wan Suraya Wan Mohd Radzi) for the ministry to submit a report to relevant enforcement agencies after the government-linked entity failed its audit.
"Just now, I went to the MACC headquarters (in Putrajaya) and submitted a report on the issues raised by the auditor general, along with feedback from the ministry and HRD Corp, an agency under our ministry that was mentioned in the Auditor General's Report.
"The MACC has assured that they will conduct a thorough and professional investigation into the matter," he said.
He added that the report to the MACC was submitted under the instructions of Human Resources Minister Steven Sim.
Earlier today, Sim in a statement said that reports detailing the findings in the Auditor General's Report and PAC would be submitted to the MACC.
Sim said he had instructed Khairul Dzaimee and HRD Corp chief executive Datuk Shahul Dawood to prepare a report for the MACC regarding the Auditor General's findings, which focused on HRD Corp's operations from 2019 to last year.
"The ministry takes seriously the reports presented by the Auditor General's Department and the PAC in the Parliament yesterday."