Act against Petra News, staffers of The Vibes, TMI urge authorities

Summary

• Several staff of The Malaysian Insight, The Vibes, and Getaran urge authorities to act against Petra News Sdn Bhd for allegedly failing to make statutory payments.

• This comes despite deductions being made from the salaries last year.

• They have lodged reports with the police and Labour Department.

Staffers of media outlets The Malaysian Insight, The Vibes, and Getaran have urged the authorities to act against Petra News Sdn Bhd for allegedly failing to make statutory payments in 2024.

In a press statement, the staff members allege that Petra News had failed to make monthly payments to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), tax deductions to the Inland Revenue Board, and Social Security Organisation (Socso) contributions for 2024.

“We urge the relevant ministries and authorities to take immediate action against Petra News to ensure compliance with labour laws and protect employees’ financial security.

“And we demand that Petra News immediately settle all outstanding EPF, tax deductions, and Socso contributions for 2024 in accordance with legal requirements,” the statement read.

The statement was signed by 15 employees of Petra News.

Failure to remit

The staffers claimed that upon reviewing their EPF, IRB and Socso records, they found Petra News had failed to remit both employee and employer’s contributions to the relevant authorities.

This happened, they claimed, despite statutory deductions being made from their salaries.

“Employees have documented proof of these deductions in their monthly payslips,” the statement said, adding the affected staffers had lodged a police report at the Travers police station in Brickfields on Feb 14.

Affected staff have also lodged a separate complaint with the Labour Department, which is investigating the matter.

This failure, they added, has caused financial distress for employees, which included loan application rejections due to uncredited EPF contributions.

“Employees also fear facing penalties from IRB when filing their income tax returns,” they said.

No success

The affected staff members said they have tried to resolve the matter amicably with Petra News but were unsuccessful.

“Despite multiple scheduled hearings, Petra News has failed to attend some, refused to sign a memorandum of understanding, and violated the prior agreement - for a few complainants - undermining the credibility of the system.

“Despite these serious breaches, no enforcement action has been taken against Petra News or its owner,” they lamented.

Malaysiakini has reached out to Petra News for comment.

When contacted, Brickfields district police chief Ku Mashariman Ku Mahmood confirmed two police reports have been lodged on the matter.

“Both (reports) are from the employees and it has been referred to the three agencies (EPF, Inland Revenue Board and Socso) for further action,” he told Malaysiakini.

Gerakan Media Merdeka (Geramm) urged the authorities to expedite investigations on Petra News.

“Geramm also urges the related media owners and management to take responsibility and cooperate in finding a resolution instead of turning a blind eye.

“There is a price to pay for upholding a free media landscape, starting with ensuring that media workers receive fair wages and social security guarantees, as mandated by law,” it said in a statement.

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