Lim orders probe on whether Bernama salaries used for other purposes

The national news agency Bernama was reported to have withheld the EPF contributions of its staff so it could pay their July salaries.

PETALING JAYA: The finance ministry will investigate whether money meant to pay the staff of national news agency Bernama was “diverted” for other purposes, its minister Lim Guan Eng said.

This comes after a report that Bernama had told its staff it was facing cash flow problems and that it had been forced to skip contributions to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to pay their July salaries on time.

Malaysiakini had quoted a senior accounts and finance manager from the government-backed company as telling staff that it had not received its grant from the ministry.

In a statement today, Lim said the ministry took a serious view of the claim that Bernama had to use the staff’s EPF contributions to pay their July salaries.

He also asked why the ministry had only received, on July 22, an application for the grant, dated July 19, if the agency had been strapped for cash.

He said Bernama’s CEO Nurini Kassim’s statement that the ministry faced financial constraints was baseless as it had always prioritised paying salaries and EPF contributions.

“Emoluments and salaries will always be provided with sufficient funds to be paid in advance compared to other charges.

“This raises the question of whether the money that should be allocated for salaries and EPF contributions has been ‘diverted’ by Bernama for other payment purposes.

“I have directed the ministry to initiate an investigation to determine who should be held responsible for this serious situation so that appropriate action can be taken,” he said.

Lim said the federal government under Pakatan Harapan was not bankrupt “like certain state governments which could not pay the salaries of those under their administrations”.

He said the ministry had always been blamed when agencies overspent their budgets or failed to manage their finances well. - FMT