Letter to Editor
THERE have been numerous letters published in our local printed and online media over the past few weeks on the micro-credential (MC) scheme that the Human Resource Development Corporation (HRDC) intends to introduce effective Aug 15 this year.
Under the MC scheme, employers are required to pay a further RM300 per trainee for each training session they send employees to. This new payment is in addition to, and over and above, the mandated levy that all employers cough up every month to HRDC, as well as training fees imposed by HRDC-appointed training providers.
Consequently, employers and employer representatives, including the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) and affected stakeholders, have called for proper consultation on the imposition of the MC scheme.
They have expressed disbelief that the HRDC is proceeding without the industry’s input on top of seemingly transforming itself from a regulator to a profit centre, not to mention the obvious – that the MC scheme will unreasonably amplify the cost of doing business domestically.
They have also repeatedly lamented that the HRDC should not be teaching employers how to conduct their businesses as well as oversee the methods employers deploy to conduct employees’ training and development.
After all, employers know best based on their peculiar, specialised requirements and technical needs, technological development and digitising industries, evolving customer demands and growth markets that they serve.
Section 7 of the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) Act 2001 clearly states that “the Board of HRDC should include, among others, ten persons representing the employers.”
The current board is represented by seven employers representing FMM, the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF), Malaysian Associated Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MAICCI), Small Medium Enterprise Association of Malaysia (SMEAM), PETRONAS, Nouvelle Beauty Centre and BTC Group.
Short changed?
What happened to the balance of three slots? No Malay or Chinese chambers?
Furthermore, Malaysia is aggressively courting foreign direct investment (FDIs) and yet surprisingly, there is not even a single representative from foreign chambers of commerce are in the board nor were they included for consultation on the MC scheme (eg. the American Chamber of Commerce in Malaysia [AMCHAM], the European Chamber of Commerce in Malaysia [EUROCHAM] or the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Trade in Malaysia [JACTIM]).
Is this a deliberate and convenient attempt at shutting them out?
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MITI) and Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) must take serious note of this embarrassing oversight. They should act promptly and commit the needful urgently before this shameful episode escalates, turning Malaysia a laughing stock in the eyes of our neighbors and investors.
It goes without saying that when the board is not adequately represented by employers as laid out by the HRDF Act 2001 – and is knowingly violated – then the HRDC management has absolute authority to bulldoze and run the HRDC with impunity.
And board members who have their own/proxy training outfits will not raise a fuss since they would likely be indebted after obtaining significant training grants from HRDC.
To further widen existing context, let us delve sparingly into some of HRDC’s less than savory history.
Back in 2014, the then CEO of HRDC Ali Badaruddin Abdul Kadir lost his job because he disagreed with the award of a lucrative contract to Bena College which had zero track record in running the “Recognition of Prior Learning” (RPL) programme. Sources back then said that this internal matter involved a high-level personnel shake-up.
Déjà vu and fast forward to 2018 when then-CEO had to step down due to a large sum of funds was reportedly misused, including sponsoring some members of the Malaysian Press Club (MPC) to a three-week Germany junket study tour in addition to paying exorbitant bonuses, salaries and allowances to HRDC’s management staff.
As a supposedly neutral federal agency, HRDC was also disclosed to have sponsored concerts and events for the benefit for certain political parties.
Now in 2022, the HRDC is trying their luck yet again!!! Do they ever learn? – July 14, 2022
Dejected MNC HR Director
Penang
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
