Opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin said he has no issues with a non-Malay company conducting the rebranding exercise for Tabung Haji (TH).
This is as long as the company is owned by Muslims, he said.
“Even if (the owners) are not Malay but are Muslims, then carry on.
“I am not questioning whether they are Malay, Chinese, or Indian. I am questioning whether the consultants know Islamic principles. They have to know that first,” he told a press conference in Parliament today.
Earlier today, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Na’im Mokhtar said the government is considering action against individuals behind attempts to incite TH depositors to close their accounts with the religious institution.
Na’im said several such videos have been circulated on social media platforms recently.
This followed a RM5.9 million rebranding exercise by TH, which several quarters had raised issues with, as it was allegedly awarded via direct negotiation to a non-Muslim business venture.
‘Depositors are not convinced’
During the press conference, PAS’ Pengkalan Chepa MP Ahmad Marzuk Shaary questioned the government’s commitment to eliminating direct negotiations.
He said Na’im had earlier confirmed in his parliamentary response that the companies that conducted TH’s rebranding exercise had been appointed through direct negotiations.
“Actually, the effort we (PN) are making is to maintain the sensitivity and confidence of TH depositors.
“The problem with the government’s actions is that the minister’s answers are not convincing to depositors. So don’t be angry with the depositors out there who are speaking out because the answers given before are indeed not convincing.
“Added to this is the revelation today that the contract was improperly given to a non-Muslim company, because there are Islamic companies that are more specialised and can implement this rebranding project end-to-end,” he added.
Na’im was winding up the 13th Malaysia Plan debates when Marzuk interjected, accusing the minister of failing to answer whether TH awarded a “rebranding” contract to a non-Malay company without an open tender.
He insisted he was not being “racist” and demanded Na’im justify appointing a non-Malay company to redesign the TH logo, which currently includes in Arabic script the phrase Hayya ‘alal falah, or “Rush to success”.
Marzuk also named the appointed company and its list of non-Malay shareholders, claiming he was informed there were “many Malay-bumiputera companies” that waited for an open tender call for the rebranding exercise. - Mkini
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