Human resources minister Steven Sim says his ministry will launch an internal audit to investigate discrepancies in the system.

PETALING JAYA: The human resources ministry should include independent members in an audit of its migrant workers management system, according to anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International-Malaysia.

The group’s president, Muhammad Mohan, said the system’s security had been breached, as revealed by the Public Accounts Committee.

The PAC said two system user IDs had been found that did not belong to any human resources ministry official, and 24 unauthorised users had been found to approve 24 employer applications.

Muhammad said this might have contributed to the numerous cases of Bangladeshi migrants who had travelled to Malaysia after being promised employment, only to find out they had been duped.

“This is a major issue which should not be swept under the carpet. In this case, there were definitely some senior officials involved. If it was happening at the human resources ministry, it could be happening at other ministries too,” he said.

On Wednesday, human resource minister Steven Sim said the ministry will launch an internal audit to investigate discrepancies in the system.

“It’s fine if the audit is led by the ministry’s secretary-general (Khairul Dzaimee Daud), but it should be a committee with independent people in it, to lend the audit some credibility, rather than just the same people from the ministry,” said Muhammad.

He suggested that IT experts from professional bodies such as the Big Four accounting firms be included for the audit.

Former MP Charles Santiago also agreed that FWCMS should be audited. However, he stressed that no ministry officials should be involved.

“One of the practices of good governance is that you can’t investigate your own self. Investigating yourself creates a conflict of interest and no one will trust you,” said Santiago, a vocal migrant rights advocate.

FMT has sought more information on the audit from the minister’s office.