The Human Resources Development Corporation (HRD Corp) spent RM1.5 million renovating a community centre in Tapah, Perak because it was in then human resources minister M Saravanan’s parliamentary constituency.
This is according to HRD Corp chief executive Shahul Hamid Shaik Dawood, who testified as such at the bipartisan parliamentary Public Accounts Committee.
In its report published yesterday, the PAC noted Shahul said the other reason was to serve the Orang Asli community there.
He said the building was renovated to serve as a “learning and development” facility for the Orang Asli because they had no internet in their residential area.
However, when pressed by PAC member Sim Tze Tzin (PKR-Bayan Baru), Shahul admitted that Tapah was chosen because it was the minister’s constituency.
Sim also remarked that with RM1.5 million, it was possible to buy three shop lots in Tapah instead of renovating just one community centre.
Sim: So, you want to open up a community centre to train Orang Asli, which is well and good.
Why not do it in Tanjong Malim, with a lot of Orang Asli? Why not in Cameron Highlands or maybe in Bera? Kubang Pasu? There are a lot of Orang Asli there. Why not do it there?
Shahul: Certainly sir, if there is a budget we will do it in that place in the future.
Sim: But the main reason is because, of course, the minister was also part of the reason?
Shahul: Yes, the minister is from Tapah. If there is a budget permitted and there is a need, we can also do it in other places. There is no problem, sir.
HRD Corp chief operations officer Ariff Farhan Doss’ testimony also indicated that the Tapah centre may have been an election project.
He opined that it was not needed because HRD Corp already had an office in Ipoh and that HRD Corp had already run programmes in Tapah for two years prior without the need for a building.
“I was given six months to ensure the building was ready so it could be officiated by the minister at the time, a month before the general election,” he said.
Ariff, who also disagreed with the large cost, said the spending was extravagant because it involved expensive features.
“We have screens that are RM100,000 each. So, two of those screens are in Tapah. Which we don’t use today,” he said.
Responding on the matter today, Saravanan said HRD Corp made its own decision on the Tapah renovations.
“There was a need to support the Orang Asli community with a learning and development facility.
“However, the decisions on where to establish the centre, the scale of the renovation, and the financial expenditures were made entirely by the HRD Corp board,” Saravanan reportedly told Free Malaysia Today.
Problematic property purchases
The PAC also found that HRD Corp was involved in other problematic real estate deals.
One of them was the 2020 purchase of a building, Menara Ikhlas, in Putrajaya which cost RM202.5 million. The proposal was to make it HRD Corp’s headquarters.
HRD Corp paid a real estate agency an exorbitant deposit of RM120 million - far higher than the conventional 10 percent - but the deal was eventually scrapped, the PAC was told.
Former board member Ruhaidini Abdul Kadir testified that she pushed for the cancellation because the ownership had not been transferred even after almost two years.
“I was opposed to continuing the purchase and proposed HRD Corp seek reimbursement of the deposit with interest,” said Ruhaidini, who was also an aide to former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
The deposit was returned in February 2023, along with interest of about RM3 million.
Another two property purchases in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah and Bangsar South in Kuala Lumpur were also flagged as problematic.
Rosli Yaakub, a board member representing the Finance Ministry, testified that board members were on Nov 23, 2022, asked to sign a statement of arm’s length regarding the RM16 million Kota Kinabalu purchase, without any details of the deal, because it had already been approved by the investment panel.
An arm’s length transaction meant that both buyer and seller were acting for their own interests and were not subjected to undue pressure from each other.
Rosli said he contested the purchase but was told by the company secretary that only the investment panel’s approval is required, to which he disagreed as he believed that the board had fiduciary duties and could compel the investment panel to provide details of its investments.
“But YB, this property purchase was never brought to the board. I say this again, it was never brought to the board, never.”
RM154 million mystery
Similarly, a six-storey building in Bangsar South worth RM154 million was purchased in 2017 without board approval.
In fact, the PAC could not establish who signed off on the large purchase.
Former CEO Elanjelian Venugopal said it was meant to be HRD Corp’s headquarters but it never happened “because it became a controversial issue”.
“The board didn’t approve the purchase of the building,” he testified, adding that the CEO had the authority to approve such purchases unilaterally.
However, he said, there is “confusion” over who approved the Bangsar South purchase.
“There were a lot of things that were approved at that time that were kind of questionable,” he said.
Elanjelian, who was CEO from July 2018 to April 2020, said the MACC was investigating the Bangsar South purchase and had taken his statement.
He claimed there was suspicion of a RM10 million bribe involved in the purchase but the MACC action “suddenly stopped”.
“When the government collapsed, even the action stopped. But, I saw the document because they were interviewing me, the MACC officer, about an RM10 million bribe involved,” said the former Khazanal Nasional vice-president.
In 2017, the CEO was CM Vignaesvaran Jeyandran, who served from June 2010 to June 2018, while the human resources minister was Richard Riot.
The PAC report was published on the same day as the Auditor-General’s Report, which also included an audit of HRD Corp.
Auditor-General Wan Suraya Wan Mohd Rodzi proposed the ministry refer HRD Corp to enforcement agencies, after an “unsatisfactory” audit.
Human Resources Minister Steven Sim today said the minister will submit the report to the MACC for an investigation. - Mkini
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