Petra News Sdn Bhd is the publisher of news portals The Malaysian Insight, The Vibes and Getaran.
PETALING JAYA: Employees of Petra News Sdn Bhd have expressed their gratitude to communications minister Fahmi Fadzil for his help on the issue of outstanding statutory contributions in 2024.
In a joint statement today, 15 employees of three news portals – The Malaysian Insight, The Vibes and Getaran – thanked him for his support since the issue was first brought to light.
They accused Petra News, the publisher of the news portals, of failing to remit both employee and employer contributions to their EPF and Social Security Organisation (Perkeso) accounts as well as the monthly income tax deduction to the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) for the whole of last year.
“Employees have documented proof of these deductions in their monthly payslips.
“Despite making these deductions, the company has failed to fulfil its legal obligation to submit the payments due, effectively withholding employees’ statutory contributions illegally,” they said.
According to the 15 employees, a police report was lodged at the Jalan Travers police station in Kuala Lumpur yesterday over the discrepancies.
The employees said beyond unremitted statutory contributions, they had also faced delays in salary payments since last year.
“The affected staff have lodged a separate complaint with the labour department under the human resources ministry, which is currently investigating the matter,” they said.
They also alleged that Petra News failed to attend multiple scheduled hearings, refused to sign a memorandum of understanding on the matter and violated prior agreements made with some of the complainants.
“Despite these serious breaches, no enforcement action has been taken against Petra News or its owner.
“To date, many employees continue to struggle with the financial burden caused by the irresponsible actions of the owner.
“This failure has caused financial distress for employees, including loan application rejections due to uncredited EPF contributions. Employees also fear facing penalties from LHDN when filing their income tax returns,” they said.
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