A 23-year-old employee has publicly apologised to Nasken Coffee after admitting that he had made false claims on social media alleging that the company had failed to pay his Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributions.
The employee, who has worked with the company for almost three years, uploaded the apology on Threads after his earlier post triggered a wave of negative reactions towards Nasken Coffee, which operates 42 cafes and employs more than 600 people nationwide.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, he admitted that the allegations stemmed from his own misunderstanding of his EPF records.
“I would like to apologise to the company and for the statements I posted on Threads.
“I admit that what I published was untrue. It was caused by my mistake in looking at my EPF records,” he said.
Nasken Coffee Chief Executive Officer Mohd Nazif Ab Aziz was also present during the press conference.
The employee also pledged not to make any further false statements about the company.
Meanwhile, Nasken Coffee lawyer Datuk Adnan Seman @ Abdullah said an internal review of the company’s records found that the employee had been paid his salary in full throughout his nearly three years of service.
He said the allegation that the company had failed to make EPF contributions for four months was also untrue, as the contributions had in fact been made every month.
“Based on the company’s records, this employee has served for almost three years and throughout that period, his salary was paid in full without any delay as alleged.
“Likewise, the claim that EPF contributions had not been paid for four months is untrue. The contributions were made every month, but the employee misunderstood the payment records,” he said.
Adnan said the misunderstanding prompted the employee to issue a public apology and acknowledge that his previous Threads posts were inaccurate.
He added that Nasken Coffee had decided not to pursue legal action against the employee as a matter of discretion and compassion.
However, the company takes the spread of unsubstantiated allegations on social media seriously, as such claims could potentially damage the reputation of a business employing more than 600 people.
In a separate development, Adnan said the company had also issued a letter of demand to a social media account holder using the name Zura over claims that a family member working for Nasken Coffee had allegedly not received EPF contributions for two to three years.
“Based on the company’s records, there are no outstanding contributions as alleged.
“The letter of demand was issued on March 12, and we were informed that the account holder has appointed a lawyer and is prepared to receive the writ of summons.
“Therefore, we will proceed with filing the suit and give the party an opportunity to present evidence in court,” he said.
