Twentytwo13

MARA Corp ‘short of funds’, staff not paid December salary

Mara Corporation Sdn Bhd (Mara Corp) staff haven’t been paid their December salaries due to “shortage of funds”.

The Group Human Capital Management had emailed the staff yesterday, explaining “Mara Corporation is currently experiencing a shortage of funds from the expenses that have been incurred which have exceeded the budget allocation.”

The email reassured the staff the management was diligently working on securing the additional budget required to cover the expenses. The employees were also told “to be patient”.

Several staff confirmed receiving the email and that they had yet to be paid their December salary.

It is unclear if Rural Development Minister Datuk Dr Abd Latiff Ahmad is aware of the situation.

There are 30-odd staff working in Mara Corp with 20 of them being professionals while the rest were seconded from Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara).

Those brought in from Mara received their secondment allowances for December.

Efforts to get Mara Corp proved futile.

On Dec 3, Twentytwo13 revealed Mara Corp’s group chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Badlisyah Abdul Ghani was asked to go on leave – barely three months after it was announced he would lead the impact investment and commercial unit of Mara.

The reason for Badlisyah’s “suspension” has yet to be made public by Mara Corp.

It is understood Badlisyah had, among others, intended to carry out an audit.

The fate of 20 professionals hired during Badlisyah’s stint to oversee various sectors within the company – namely education, financial services, property, aerospace, retail and transportation – remains uncertain.

It also remains unclear if Mara Council and Mara Corp board of directors had approved the appointment of Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman to be Mara Corp executive director and chairman of the executive committee board for two years beginning Dec 1, 2020, until Nov 30, 2022.

For the record, Suhaili who is a director, is the former Labuan MP and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia Labuan chief.

Government-owned Prasarana Malaysia Bhd also suffered from cash flow issues as revealed by its chairman Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman in a Jan 4 press conference. He said then that the company’s revenue was insufficient for operations and capital expenditure.