[ad_1]
KUALA LUMPUR: Employers made a total of 155 fraudulent claims worth nearly RM20 thousand under the Wage Subsidy Program (WSP), says Vice Minister of Human Resources Awang Hashim.
The false claims are among 345 complaints filed with the Social Security Organization (Socso) against employers under the WSP since its implementation in June with the goal of helping employers affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Socso has received 345 cases of complaints against employers regarding payments under the WSP involving RM19,986,200.
“From the complaints received, Socso identified 155 cases of false claims and misappropriation of WSP funds,” he said in response to a question posed by Datuk Mahfuz Omar (Amanah-Pokok Sena) in Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (November 12).
He said investigations were still ongoing for the 190 cases in which whistleblowers were asked to provide more details about their allegations.
He said payments under the WSP would stop on claims under investigation, while those who made fraudulent claims had to refund the money.
It added that Sosco is working with the ministry, including the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to take action against employers who made such false claims.
“If you cheat or make false claims, action can be taken against employers under sections 415 and 417 of the Penal Code,” he said.
Mahfuz also asked whether the amount of WSP aid could be increased to RM 1,200 from RM 600, as Singapore provides aid equal to 75% of the median salary.
Awang said that the situation in Singapore should not be used as a comparison, as the total population of that country was about 5 million compared to Malaysia’s workforce of more than 7 million employees.
[ad_2]
