Employers Must Submit Statutory Declaration to Prevent Fund Misuse

Employers who are applying for PENJANA assistance must submit a statutory declaration (SD) to prevent misuse of funds.

Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan stated that the new condition for the programme application, run by the Social Security Organisation (Socso), was also enforced to deter employers from submitting false claims.

In a virtual press conference, he said that employers must submit an SD stating the total number of their workers. The authorities will take stricter action against them if they are guilty of using a false SD. 

As of May 18, the minister said that Socso had accepted 1,758 complaints concerning suspicious payment of the hiring incentives.

They found that:

• 1,231 cases turned out to be baseless,
• 340 cases suspected to be fraudulent claims, and
• 187 cases were still under investigation.

Saravanan said that Socso had also reclaimed RM85 million of wage subsidies from 8,000 employers who "wrongfully" received the funds.

 

Complaint history

The complaints were first highlighted by a lawmaker from Pahang who mentioned a company that used fake names to be eligible for subsidies.

Former human resources minister M. Kulasegaran urged the government to look into claims that some businesses were falsifying employment information to obtain funds meant to incentivise recruitment disbursed under the PENJANA programme. 

He said that dubious employers allegedly abused the arrangement by applying for or obtaining the PENJANA incentive without recruiting the individuals concerned.

One of the purported fraud cases was secretly recorded on video. Sabai assemblyman Kamache Doray Rajoo brought it to public attention. She has also lodged multiple police reports. 

One of her complaints alleged that a company falsely listed the new hires' names and applied for the PENJANA hiring incentives. 

More fake employee data

Saravanan also said that Socso's Ethics and Compliance branch and anti-fraud unit were currently investigating a complaint about the existence of a syndicate that involved a company allegedly falsifying employee data to apply for the PenjanaKerjaya 2.0 incentives.

He said that the police or the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) would also assist with the case if there's a need for it. 

The minister reminded all job seekers not to share their personal information on social media to prevent irresponsible parties from taking advantage of them. 

 

PenjanaKerjaya 2.0

The hiring programme is an economic recovery incentive under the Human Resources Ministry. Socso's National Employment Services administered the programme to promote job creation among businesses while enhancing employment prospects.

 

If anyone has any complaints or enquiries about the PENJANA incentives, they can send an e-mail to penjanakerjaya@perkeso.gov.my or call Socso's Customer Service Hotline 1-300-22-8000 or 03 80915300.

Source: The Sun, Malay Mail

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