KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 — In its parliamentary report released today, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) found oversight issues in the management of foreign workers in Malaysia.
Most notably, the PAC said there were regulation violations and overlaps concerning the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS) and ePPAx under both the Human Resources (HR) Ministry and the Home Ministry.
It said the Cabinet then under the leadership of Datuk Seri Najib Razak, had on August 26, 2015, approved the development of the ePPAx and FWCMS systems, both based on the single window concept; and this led to overlapping functions between agencies in developing the foreign worker management system and public funds wastage.
“PAC also found that the FWCMS contract has yet to be finalised and signed between the government and the vendor, despite the Letter of Acceptance for the FWCMS system development issued on January 12, 2018, until the date of PAC’s last proceedings on March 13, 2024,” PAC chairman Datuk Wira Mas Ermieyati Samsudin said in a statement.
This means the Home Ministry has been using the FWCMS for roughly six years without a finalised contract, which is a clear violation of government regulations.
The PAC also discovered weaknesses in the ID control management in the FWCMS, with two IDs held by non-HR Ministry officers and 24 unauthorised users approving 24 employer applications.
The PAC said this issue had been reported to the police for investigation.
The PAC report released today following Volume Two of the Auditor General’s Report on the activities of federal ministries and statutory bodies that was presented in Parliament on November 22, 2023.
The findings were based on testimonies of government officials and the FWCMS vendor Bestinet Sdn Bhd.
The PAC recommended five actions the government should take, including the immediate finalisation of the FWCMS’s contract and direction, and rectifying acquisition processes and seeking immediate solutions.
