Press Statement by Member of Parliament for Ipoh Barat, M Kula Segaran on 11 October 2020:

Serious allegations against HRDF must be answered by Minister Saravanan

Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M Saravanan, must address worrying allegations surrounding the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF).

According to online reports, tensions at the agency are high after an alleged deal to buy a building in Cyberjaya went south. There has been talk that other investments by the agency have also caught the eye of authorities resulting in a pushback from the board. The last thing we need is for HRDF to return to the days of negligence where funds were misused. Saravanan must address these allegations against HRDF, true or false, he is duty bound to Malaysians.

Is it true that the Chairman of HRDF threatened to resign? If so why? Did the board reject the idea to purchase the building?

The minister must also address the need to buy a building using HRDF funds at a time where our economy is at its most vulnerable. Isn’t it the duty to protect the welfare of the people as well as Malaysian employers by not splashing the cash on a building at a time when employers cannot make their HRDF contributions let alone survive the economic effects of the Pandemic?

Should we not keep the domestic labour market resilient which would
mean a deal like this at this time would serve as a disservice to HRDF.
HRDF’s objectives are clear; assists employers to run training and development programmes in order to skill, upskill or reskill their workforce so they become more valuable to their companies.

In the “new normal” HRDF’s role in our nation is as vital as ever, we are moving towards automation, IR4.0 and the advent of future of work. We need HRDF to be led by capable people in order to steer the human capital of the nation in the right direction.

As the former Minister of Human Resources, I ensured that HRDF would undergo a complete overhaul by establishing a Governance Oversight Committee (GOC) to rid the agency of weaknesses and misuse of power.

We also seconded a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officer to the organisation to establish the proper rules and regulations in the HRDF governance’s clean-up. As reported before, HRDF in 2015, purchased six floors of a “landmark skyscraper” for RM154 million despite the board not having approved the purchase.

I hope these abuses of HRDF funds do not make a comeback.

M. Kula Segaran,
Member of Parliament for Ipoh Barat,
National Vice-Chairman of the Democratic Action Party,
Former Human Resources Minister, Malaysia.