LETTERS: Numerous letters have been published on the micro-credential (MC) scheme that the Human Resources Development Corporation (HRDC) intends to introduce on Aug 15.
Under the scheme, employers are required to pay a further RM300 per trainee for each training session they send employees to.
This is in addition to and over and above the mandated levy that all employers cough up every month to HRDC, as well as the training fees imposed by HRDC-appointed training providers.
Consequently, employers and employer representatives, including the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) and stakeholders, have called for proper consultation on the imposition of the MC scheme.
They have also repeatedly said the HRDC should not be teaching employers how to conduct their businesses, as well as oversee the methods employers deploy to conduct employees' training and development.
After all, employers know best based on their peculiar, specialised requirements and technical needs, technological development and digitising industries, evolving customer demands and growth markets that they serve.
Section 7 of the HRDF Act 2001 clearly states that "the Board of HRDC should include, among others, 10 persons representing the employers."
The current board is represented by seven employers comprising FMM, the Malaysian Employers Federation, Malaysian Associated Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Small and Medium Enterprises Association of Malaysia, Petronas, Nouvelle Beauty Centre and the BTC Group.
What happened to the other three slots? No Malay or Chinese chambers rep?
Malaysia is aggressively courting foreign direct investment, yet, surprisingly, there is not even a single representative from foreign chambers of commerce on the board.
Nor are they included for consultation on the MC scheme, for example, the American Chamber of Commerce in Malaysia, the European Chamber of Commerce in Malaysia and the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Trade in Malaysia.
The International Trade and Industry Ministry and the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority must take serious note of this.
ROSLAN SHARIF
Penang
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times