No More 30 Pool Fund In Hrdf

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M Kulasegaran says HRDF will undergo a series of reforms based on recommendations by a committee tasked with evaluating the human resources fund.KUALA LUMPUR: The government will discontinue a pool fund under its human capital development programme which is made up of 30% of contributions from employers registered with the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF)
The move, which takes effect on Nov 15, was announced by Human Resources Minister M Kulasegaran during a town hall meeting with employers today
The 30% deduction was first initiated in the 2016 Budget by then prime minister Najib Razak
Meanwhile, Kulasegaran today also announced that the Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Act 2001 which governs HRDF would be amended to tighten loopholes
“The amendment will take time. I have to submit it to the Attorney-General for drafting before it gets tabled at Parliament,” he told HRDF stakeholders this morning
Kulasegaran’s announcements follow recommendations by an independent committee set up last June 28 to review all aspects of the HRDF Board governance
The committee chaired by Rebecca Sta Maria, former secretary-general of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry had said it found poor board governance and weak compliance, ineffective organisation structure, unclear governance over HRDF funds, and ambiguous clauses under the PSMB Act
It also found that HRDF’s training committee to identify the skills required by different industries was not staffed by competent individuals
Kulasegaran said other actions following the committee’s revelations included the appointment of a new Chief Executive on July 12, the resignation of seven board members and a restructuring of HRDF’s organisation structure
One of the participants at the meeting today asked if action had been taken against the former chief executive of HRDF
In his response, Kulasegaran said police reports were filed against ex-board members over several serious offences
“There is evidence that some training providers and certain HRDF management personnel misused the fund
“In these instances, the HRDF Board was only informed after the money was spent. In other instances, the management exceeded their authority and approved projects beyond their authorised limit.”Other instances of misconduct revealed so far included large sums of money that were diverted without the authority of the HRDF Board for insubstantial training programmes and millions of ringgit used to buy property without any authorisation from the board
Kulasegaran said there were also cases of salaries and bonuses paid to selective management staff members without the approval of the board
He added that there would be civil and criminal proceedings against the ex-board members
“I would also like to add that the HRDF independent committee report has revealed that some members of the HRDF board of directors did not declare their interests to the board.”In his speech, the minister promised transparency and assured the employers that the new work culture in HDRF would be aimed at addressing their needs, complaints and queries
In the previous town hall meeting with HRDF stakeholders, the minister was slammed by training providers over weaknesses in the management of the fund
“When I addressed the first HRDF town hall at the end of May, there was an upheaval, mostly from training providers,
“I got my officers to record their grievances and I gave an undertaking that there will be total transparency in all undertakings,” he said. - FMT

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