KUALA LUMPUR (July 18): A government backbencher has described the mismanagement at Human Resource Development Corp (HRD Corp) as "daylight robbery" of the government and the people.

During the debate over the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairperson's explanatory statement on HRD Corp findings, Kinabatangan Member of Parliament (MP) Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin criticised HRD Corp's management, calling their governance violations "extraordinary".

"This is akin to daylight robbery of the government and the people," Bung said after interjecting in Paya Besar MP Mohd Shahar Abdullah's debate.

Shahar echoed Bung Moktar's sentiments, stating that HRD Corp has been given a huge mandate to manage billions of ringgit collected from employers.

HRD Corp, supervised by the Ministry of Human Resources, has been in the headlines recently since the PAC and the Auditor-General flagged a series of mismanagement and unusual transactions, including suspicious disbursements, dubious property deals, and risky investments.

Shahar stressed that the issues implicating HRD Corp need to be addressed immediately so that the agency can return to its original objective of assisting workers in training and reskilling.

He also called on the PAC to look into companies limited by guarantee such as HRD Corp as well as the management of government-linked companies.

In her winding-up speech, PAC chairperson Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin reiterated the call to turn HRD Corp into a statutory body to ensure better governance.

She also mentioned that the HRD Corp board should review the method of transferring the levy to the unutilised levy fund to ensure the interests of small and medium enterprises are preserved.

She said that the PAC had already submitted recommendations to the relevant ministry and agency, and the committee will summon them to follow-up proceedings in three months' time to report on the actions taken to address the issues highlighted.