Petra News Staff Accuse Company Of Not Paying Statutory Contributions

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Petra News Sdn Bhd is the publisher of news portals The Malaysian Insight, The Vibes and Getaran.
PETALING JAYA: 15 employees of The Malaysian Insight, The Vibes and Getaran have accused Petra News Sdn Bhd of failing to remit their contributions for their Employees Provident Fund, Social Security Organisation and taxes for 2024.
In a joint statement today, they said a review of their records with EPF, the Inland Revenue Board and Socso revealed that while statutory deductions had been made from their salaries, Petra News, which publishes the news portals, had failed to remit both employee and employer contributions to the relevant authorities.
“Employees have documented proof of these deductions in their monthly payslips.
“Despite making these deductions, the company has failed to fulfill its legal obligation to submit payments, effectively withholding employees’ statutory contributions illegally,” read the statement.
They said they lodged a police report at the Travers police station in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur yesterday upon discovering the discrepancies.
The employees also said beyond unremitted statutory contributions, they have also faced delays in salary payments since 2024.
“The affected staff have lodged a separate complaint with the labour department under the human resources ministry, which is currently investigating the matter,” they said.
Meanwhile, the staff also expressed their gratitude to communications minister Fahmi Fadzil for his continuous help while their wages have been unpaid.
They alleged that Petra News failed to attend multiple scheduled hearings, refused to sign a memorandum of understanding on the matter and violated prior agreements for some complainants.
“Despite these serious breaches, no enforcement action has been taken against Petra News or its owner.
“To date, many employees continue to struggle with the financial burden caused by the irresponsible actions of the owner.
“This failure has caused financial distress for employees, including loan application rejections due to uncredited EPF contributions. Employees also fear facing penalties from the Inland Revenue Board when filing their income tax returns,” they said. - FMT

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