THE Human Resources Development Corp (HRDF Corp) has denied a scoop by The Vibes that the Finance Ministry (MoF) has discovered discrepancies in a contract procurement process valued between RM53 mil and RM159.47 mil a year involving a key official in the training arm of the Human Resources Ministry.
HRDF Corp claimed that the entitled Fresh Scandal Brewing at HR Ministry? pertaining to the contract and procurement process of its Skills Passport initiative contained false and defamatory statements that have caused serious damage to HRD Corp’s reputation and integrity.
“The Vibes has not made any attempt to contact HRD Corp prior to publishing the misleading article to enable us to provide our response to the incorrect statements contained therein. This is disappointing and does not reflect a good ethical standard of journalism by The Vibes,” lamented HRD Corp in a statement.
Referring to a letter that it claimed to have sighted, the news portal said MoF has suggested that a senior officer at HRD Corp – who also happens to be on its board – had attempted to mislead MoF by suggesting that he had received approval from HRD Corp’s board to proceed with a programme called “Skills Passport”.
It is understood that MoF’s letter was based on HRD Corp’s board meeting minutes dated October 6, 2022.
“The matters addressed in the letter have been answered and resolved at HRD Corp’s board meetings. In addition, we trust that the contents of the letter are protected under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1972 and were not meant for public consumption and media production,” asserted HRD Corp.
“At HRD Corp, we have always been committed to preserving the higher standards of ethics, transparency and integrity. We take serious offence to the incorrect allegations in the article. We will not allow such baseless allegations to go unchallenged and we will be taking all necessary actions to defend our reputation and protect our interests.”
To that end, HRD Corp said it has instructed its lawyers to initiate legal action to ensure the retraction of the article and to seek an apology from The Vibes.
“We understand that this situation may be of concern to the public and our stakeholders, and we want to assure you that we are doing everything possible to resolve the matter as quickly as possible,” it noted.
“We will keep you updated on any developments on this matter. We appreciate your continued support and understanding.” – May 7, 2023
