PUTRAJAYA: It’s too premature to draw similarities between the Human Resource Development Corporation (HRD Corp) audit report and the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, says Fahmi Fadzil.
The government spokesperson said that the government has yet to get the full information on the matter.
“Perhaps, we need a further review and we will give the full space to MPs to debate and the Human Resources Minister to give his replies in Parliament first.
“It is not the time for us to make any type of classification as suggested,” he told reporters during his weekly press conference on Friday (June 5).
The Communications Minister was asked whether the findings on HRD Corp can be similarly categorised as the 1MDB scandal as it involved millions of ringgit.
Earlier, the Human Resources Ministry submitted the audit reports on the Human Resource Development Corporation (HRD Corp) to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
Human resource secretary-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud said the report was submitted to the MACC headquarters here on Friday (July 5), following the Auditor-General’s and Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) reports which were tabled in Parliament on Thursday (July 4).
Suspicious real estate deals and high-risk investments were some of the issues identified by the 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.
Fahmi said that Human Resources Minister Steven Sim had informed the Cabinet that he took note of of the audit report findings on the HRD Corp and would not interfere with any probe conducted by the relevant authorities including the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
“In general, it is up to the respective ministers to take the necessary action related to any institutions or departments that are being audited.
“The most important thing for the Prime Minister is the issue of transparency and accountability in all the issues raised in the Auditor-General’s report,” said Fahmi.
On the findings of the audit report of other ministries, MPs will be allowed be given the space to scrutinise and debate the report in the Dewan Rakyat early next week.
“Surely, we will listen to all the views of the MPs and we will take all the necessary actions and the minister will be given the chance to reply, that is the process.
“If the Auditor-General feels that there is a need to bring some issues to the relevant authorities such as to the MACC, there is no issue about that,” said Fahmi.
