| DON’T mix the issue of retrenchment and the RM3 million used to upgrade facilities and equipment at the Perangsang Templer Golf Club. |
“These are two separate issues. It has nothing to do with one another,” said Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Berhad president Datuk Abdul Karim Munisar yesterday.
He was reacting to our report that the club had allegedly retrenched 72 employees but had spent a huge amount of money to upgrade the club owned by the group.
Speaking at his office in Plaza Perangsang, Shah Alam, Abdul Karim said the 72 staff were a surplus.
“We had 160 employees at the club, which far exceeded the manpower at similar clubs.
“It was a difficult decision to retrench them,” he said.
The 72 were mainly those from the golfing, building maintenance and housekeeping departments.
Abdul Karim said before the retrenchment, the management had taken steps to minimise cost by restricting overtime work, redeployment and rescheduling the working hours.
He said in the case of the 72, the management had complied with labour regulations by paying one-month salary for every year of service and one month salary as payment-in-lieu of notice and pay-in-lieu of unutilised leave.
Abdul Karim said the RM3 million used to improve operational efficiency of the golf course was made through borrowings.
“The reconditioning and improving of the golf course was crucial as golfing is the core business of the club.
“We had to do it. The club’s facilities had not been upgraded since it opened in 1993.
“We wanted to uplift the club’s image to make it the pride of the State,” he said.
He said the upgrading exercise began last November to improve basic facilities such as the ballrooms, washrooms and locker rooms, bowling alley and the food and beverage outlets.
Abdul Karim said the purchase of 80 new buggies were done on a hire-purchase basis.
“The purchase did not burden the club financially,” he said.
“Not only are these new buggies self-financing, they generate sufficient cash flow to service the hire-purchase loan.
“They have added to the club’s profitability and improved the cash flow.”
The club, he said, was previously only entitled to 20 per cent of the revenue from buggy rentals under a partnership agreement.
The club also had to bear utility charges and was required to pay a minimum of RM50,000 per month.
On the recruitment of foreign workers as caddies, Abdul Karim clarified that they are not on the club’s payroll.
“The hiring of caddies was outsourced to an agent as attempts to engage local caddies proved less than encouraging,” he said.
The Malay Mail had on Monday highlighted the grievances of the 72 former employees whose services were terminated on the eve of Labour Day.
On Saturday, the workers staged a protest in front of the club’s main entrance.
Carrying placards, the former workers distributed flyers, highlighting their plight to visitors.
They said they were aware of the club’s financial difficulties but were disillusioned as the management had spent RM3.2 million on the new buggies and repainting.
He was reacting to our report that the club had allegedly retrenched 72 employees but had spent a huge amount of money to upgrade the club owned by the group.
Speaking at his office in Plaza Perangsang, Shah Alam, Abdul Karim said the 72 staff were a surplus.
“We had 160 employees at the club, which far exceeded the manpower at similar clubs.
“It was a difficult decision to retrench them,” he said.
The 72 were mainly those from the golfing, building maintenance and housekeeping departments.
Abdul Karim said before the retrenchment, the management had taken steps to minimise cost by restricting overtime work, redeployment and rescheduling the working hours.
He said in the case of the 72, the management had complied with labour regulations by paying one-month salary for every year of service and one month salary as payment-in-lieu of notice and pay-in-lieu of unutilised leave.
Abdul Karim said the RM3 million used to improve operational efficiency of the golf course was made through borrowings.
“The reconditioning and improving of the golf course was crucial as golfing is the core business of the club.
“We had to do it. The club’s facilities had not been upgraded since it opened in 1993.
“We wanted to uplift the club’s image to make it the pride of the State,” he said.
He said the upgrading exercise began last November to improve basic facilities such as the ballrooms, washrooms and locker rooms, bowling alley and the food and beverage outlets.
Abdul Karim said the purchase of 80 new buggies were done on a hire-purchase basis.
“The purchase did not burden the club financially,” he said.
“Not only are these new buggies self-financing, they generate sufficient cash flow to service the hire-purchase loan.
“They have added to the club’s profitability and improved the cash flow.”
The club, he said, was previously only entitled to 20 per cent of the revenue from buggy rentals under a partnership agreement.
The club also had to bear utility charges and was required to pay a minimum of RM50,000 per month.
On the recruitment of foreign workers as caddies, Abdul Karim clarified that they are not on the club’s payroll.
“The hiring of caddies was outsourced to an agent as attempts to engage local caddies proved less than encouraging,” he said.
The Malay Mail had on Monday highlighted the grievances of the 72 former employees whose services were terminated on the eve of Labour Day.
On Saturday, the workers staged a protest in front of the club’s main entrance.
Carrying placards, the former workers distributed flyers, highlighting their plight to visitors.
They said they were aware of the club’s financial difficulties but were disillusioned as the management had spent RM3.2 million on the new buggies and repainting.
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