The Finance Ministry (MOF) is furious that it has been dragged into what it describes as a possible "mismanagement of funds" meant for staff salaries by news agency Bernama.
According to highly placed sources within the ministry, Bernama CEO Nurini Kassim (photo, above) was summoned to Putrajaya yesterday to explain the agency's so-called "cash-strapped situation".
The source said Nurini was grilled on why the agency failed to manage its coffers when enough money had been provided through a MOF grant.
"The MOF is serious about the matter. We want to get to the bottom of this because an initial probe found that it may be a case of misappropriation of funds," the ministry official, who requested anonymity, told Malaysiakini.
The official said the MOF described the situation as alleged misuse of government funds, although it may not have been done for personal gain.
"Diverting funds from statutory payments like the Employee Provident Fund (EPF), deducting the salary from staff but not channelling the money to the relevant parties is not only a huge mistake but amounts to a breach of trust by the management," the source added.
The source also expressed disappointment that MOF was somewhat blamed for the fiasco when it has provided enough money, even to cover for anomalies, for the duration of the grant.
"The management made it sound as if it is the ministry’s fault but in truth, it is an obvious case of mismanagement of funds.
"We will probe where the funds went to. That money was meant for the welfare of the staff, and not to be misused for any other reason.
"Our probe will be thorough and those involved in diverting the funds will be dealt with seriously," the source added.
Today, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng echoed similar views, saying the MOF regards the issue seriously.
Lim cited a Malaysiakini report quoting Bernama’s Accounts and Finance senior manager Syarifah Zaini Syed Zain as making serious claims such as having yet to receive the grant from MOF, which resulted in the EPF contributions being used to pay for the July staff salaries.
She also claimed that the grant was delayed as it has yet to be approved by the MOF.
Other than EPF, money deducted for staff car loans were also affected as they were channelled to banks only until June.
Syarifah had said that Bernama previously received grants twice in a year but this had been reduced to quarterly payments, resulting in the agency's financial constraints.
She also could not guarantee the payment of August's staff salaries, adding hopefully that it would be paid by the 22nd or 23rd of the month.
These claims were made during a closed-door town hall meeting with about 100 Bernama staff on Thursday.
"The facts indicate otherwise," Lim said.
"If July salaries cannot be paid due to problems with MOF grant, why is it we only received a request for grant dated July 19, which we received on July 22," he added.
Lim (photo, above) said Nurini's remarks that Bernama had financial constraints until it affected EPF contributions was "baseless" as MOF always prioritised staff salaries.
"Emoluments and salaries will always be provided with enough allocation compared to other payments," Lim stressed.
"This brings us to the question whether the money allocated for salaries, emoluments and EPF was diverted by Bernama to pay for other purposes," Lim said.
Lim has launched a probe into the matter to see who is responsible for the fiasco.
He said Pakatan Harapan is not bankrupt, unlike a certain state government which cannot pay the salaries of their civil servants.
" Such reports have tarnished the MOF's image. MOF has often been blamed when a ministry or agency overspends the allocations in their budget and tries to find excuses for their mistakes involving mismanagement of funds," Lim said.
In an immediate response yesterday, Bernama said all outstanding cash flow problems have been resolved and that it is working to improve its internal cash flow and financial management process.
This was part of its overall rationalisation plan to transform the national news agency into an "information powerhouse" amidst a challenging media landscape, said Bernama. - Mkini
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