Top HRDF officers received hefty pay rise, bonuses ahead of GE14

Four high ranking officers of the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) received hefty salary increments and bonuses in the months leading up to the last general election.

The Star Online reported that the top executive and three of his executives of the multi-billion ringgit government agency pocketed RM1.25mil in individual performance bonuses for the year 2017.

The top executive reportedly received an individual bonus of RM616,000 for 2017, which was more than triple that received the previous year, while the three deputies each received RM211,000, on top of their corporate bonuses.

"In 2017, the normal staff members of HRDF were only eligible to receive up to 5.75 months of bonus, which comprised 1.75 months of corporate bonus and up to four months of individual bonus.

"The executive and a deputy have left HRDF, while the two remaining deputies are still with the fund. One of them was redesignated, but still remains in the upper echelon," said the report.

The report added that the top executive received salary revisions from RM32,000 a month, to RM47,000, and to RM56,000 a month - all within the year 2017.

According to The Star Online, former Human Resources Minister Richard Riot Jaem allegedly greenlit the lavish bonus payment package on Feb 28 last year, without informing the HRDF's establishment and benefits committee (EBC).

Under the HRDF Act, a minister may only give directives to the board, and not bypass the board to give approvals, said the report.

The HRDF has been raided by the Bukit Aman Commercial Crimes Investigation Department and the MACC numerous times since January, to facilitate investigations into various alleged wrongdoings.

The agency had also reportedly acquired real estate in Bangsar South Kuala Lumpur without prior approval from the fund’s board of directors.

Last November, Jaem's successor M Kulasegaran revealed that a large amount of the agency's money had been diverted and misused for the personal benefit of a few individuals.