Firms Allegedly Use Fake Names to Obtain Penjana Hiring Fund

The Social Security Organisation (Socso) is investigating accusations of employers misusing funds under the national economic regeneration plan's (Penjana) hiring incentive programme.

Human resources minister M Saravanan stated that he had directed Socso's anti-fraud team to review the issue when he discovered it a few days ago.

 

Former HR minister urged the government to investigate 

Earlier, former human resources minister M. Kulasegaran urged the government to investigate allegations that some businesses fake employment data to obtain funds meant to incentivise hiring distributed under the Penjana programme.

The Penjana hiring incentive programme is an economic recovery stimulus under the Ministry of Human Resource. Socso's National Employment Services administered the programme to promote job creation among companies while boosting employment prospects.

Kulasegaran said suspicious employers allegedly exploited such an arrangement by receiving or applying for the Penjana incentive without hiring anyone.

"This is done by keeping a list of names of individuals without hiring them," Kulasegaran said in a statement.

The accusation has fuelled speculation that these companies could have obtained sensitive employment data from Socso. If valid, the former minister said the authorities must investigate if there was a clear violation of the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (PDPA).

"The people also ought to know how this information is used," he said.

Kulasegaran added that the allegations should raise a concern about accountability and supervision of taxpayer's fund and that the government has to be transparent.

The former minister urged his successor Datuk Seri Saravanan Murugan to address these allegations.

"These malpractices have denied the youth who have not been employed for months now, from training programs that need no deduction from Socso and Employment insurance schemes," Kulasegaran said.

"Fresh graduates and youth who have not worked before are the ones who lose out the most from these alleged malpractices," he stated.

 

HR Minister's response

The current Human Resources Minister said that he had only learned of two such cases. One of the cases was reported by Sabai assemblyman D Kamache.

The assemblyman had submitted a police report on several persons who were unemployed but were recorded as Socso contributors and listed as working for a firm that had utilised Penjana's hiring incentives.

"I have not heard anything personally from the former minister as he did not communicate with me. However, Kamache notified me about this case, and I've directed Socso's team to investigate it immediately," the minister said.

Saravanan added that he expects the investigations to complete by this week.

"If I'm not satisfied with the report presented, I will form a committee within the ministry to supervise the investigation procedures."

However, if proven to be accurate, he said he would refer the issue to the police and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission for further action.

 

Source: Malay Mail, FMT

 

 

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