KUALA LUMPUR – Tempers flared in the Dewan Rakyat today after Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan brought up DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng’s (Bagan-PH) ongoing graft trial during his winding-up speech.
The altercation started when Saravanan tried to provide clarification on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) probe into the PenjanaKerjaya scheme over false claims and misappropriation of funds.
In his speech, the minister insisted that he would not protect anybody involved in the alleged abuse, regardless of their political ideology, amid speculations that MIC members might be among those implicated.
To back his claim, Saravanan said it was the Social Security Organisation (Socso), an agency under his ministry, that lodged a report to MACC to assist in the investigation.
“If I wanted to sweep everything under the carpet, I would have ordered Socso not to lodge a report to MACC,” he said, in response to earlier questions raised by lawmakers on PenjanaKerjaya.
Saravanan said this went in his winding-up speech for the Employment Insurance System (Amendment) Bill 2022.
M. Kula Segaran (Ipoh Barat-PH) then asked Saravanan if his remark implied that MIC members were involved in the embezzlement.
This ostensibly irked Saravanan, who responded by saying: “When he (Kula Segaran) was minister, he did not even pull a single nail.”
“MIC members may be involved, but we are not sure yet. What we are sure of is that Bagan (Lim) has been charged in court over accusations of dishonestly misappropriating two plots of state land (as payment for the Penang undersea tunnel project).
“Don’t talk like an angel, Ipoh Barat. DAP has been proven to have been charged in court.”
On September 11, 2020, Lim was charged with two counts of causing two plots of land belonging to the Penang government worth RM208.8 million to be disposed of to two companies.
R.S.N. Rayer (Jelutong-PH) then interjected and reminded the minister that Lim’s case should not be mentioned in the lower House as it is still undergoing due process in court.
Kula Segaran also argued that Lim, who is DAP chairman, should be treated as innocent until proven guilty.
When Saravanan attempted to continue his winding-up speech, Kula Segaran again interjected and asked if the former was too afraid to answer his initial question.
To this, Saravanan questioned if his opposition counterpart understood the Dewan Rakyat Standing Orders, which requires members of the floor to seek permission if they wish to interrupt a speech.
Earlier in his speech, the minister said the issues plaguing PenjanaKerjaya would not have surfaced had it not been for Socso’s own initiative to conduct an internal forensic investigation into the programme.
He added that there is bound to be oversight given the vast number of employers involved – a total of 45,379 had taken part in the programme.
“It’s not easy to monitor 45,000 companies who applied for the fund. Out of these, of course we will miss a few. But we were also the ones who then identified the misappropriations involving 66 firms.”
Socso had so far disbursed payments of RM2.34 billion to the 45,379 employers to hire 327,789 jobseekers, but suspended further payments amounting to RM423 million following the false claims made by employers and training providers.
Meanwhile, MACC has already arrested dozens of individuals to facilitate investigations. – The Vibes, July 25, 2022
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