Group Urges Macc To Probe Minister Bestinet Over Foreign Workers System

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The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has been urged to investigate various allegations made against information technology company Bestinet Sdn Bhd's foreign workers end-to-end platform
Parti Patriotik Nasional (PPN) pro-tem secretary-general Mohd Zulkifli Abdul Fattah said their report lodged at the MACC office in Kuala Lumpur also called for an investigation against Human Resources Minister M Kulasegaran's latest reported remarks to clear Bestinet of alleged wrongdoings
"The human resources minister has no power to issue a statement that Bestinet is innocent. Only authorities such as police and MACC should have that power

"Therefore today we lodged this report and urged MACC to investigate Bestinet and the minister," he said in reference to Kulasegaran's (below) reported statement in parliament on Dec 5
According to reports, Kulasegaran said the allegations he made against Bestinet's Foreign Worker Centralised Management System (FWCMS) last year were inaccurate and baseless
The minister said subsequent investigations showed that his claims of money laundering and labour exploitation to be unsubstantiated
The FWCMS is an end-to-end platform that connects all stakeholders in migrant workers management such as employers, recruitment agents in Malaysia and source countries, governments and medical centres
When contacted, Bestinet in a statement to Malaysiakini questioned the motive behind the claims, as well as the MACC report
"But we will nevertheless fully cooperate with the authorities in respect to any investigation conducted," said the company
"It (Bestinet) welcomes the report so that the relevant authorities are able to look into the issues raised, which will clearly exonerate the company from these unsubstantiated and unfounded allegations."In a statement, Zulkifli alleged that Kulasegaran's remarks were linked to purported lobbying efforts by parties who supported a proposal to return the foreign workers recruitment process to the Human Resources Ministry
Zulkifli also highlighted allegations which had previously been denied by Bestinet, including purported links to Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi through Real Time Networking Sdn Bhd
Responding to the lobbying claims, Bestinet today clarified its role as a service provider to the government
"We will always provide full support to the designated ministry in charge of the area, regardless of which ministry that may be
"The company also states that Bestinet is not in any way connected to Real Time Networking Sdn Bhd and Abdul Hakim Hamidi (Zahid's brother)," it stressed
On July 23 last year, Bestinet, the company embroiled in a Nepalese workers recruitment scandal, denied allegations that it was involved in money laundering activities or profiting from the processing of immigration documents for foreign workers
The information technology company also dismissed claims of links to Zahid
Zahid at the time denied abusing his powers and even said he looked forward to being investigated
Since then, Zahid has been facing an ongoing corruption trial, including for allegedly receiving gratification from a company involved in running migrant visa one-stop centres in Pakistan and Nepal. - Mkini

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