Religious affairs minister Zulkifli Hasan says the main focus at this time is to ensure that follow-up action is carried out firmly and comprehensively.
Perikatan Nasional and Umno leaders said yesterday a new RCI was necessary to re-examine TH, following the RCI on TH’s management and operations between 2014 and 2020 which found that the pilgrims’ fund had concealed the true state of its finances for years.
Zulkifli said the government’s priority was to ensure the findings and recommendations in the report were followed up to safeguard the trust placed by millions of depositors and protect Muslim assets.
“I respect the process undertaken by the Public Accounts Committee, and the Madani government is prepared to provide full cooperation if required.
“However, the main focus at this time is to ensure that follow-up action on the Tabung Haji RCI report is carried out firmly and comprehensively,” he said in a statement.
Released publicly on July 29 after being kept classified for nearly four years, the RCI’s report outlined 25 recommendations to strengthen Tabung Haji’s governance, financial reporting, investment discipline, and oversight.
The government said more than 75% of the recommendations had been implemented as of late July, with Tabung Haji continuing work on the remaining measures.
It has also pledged to accelerate the outstanding reforms.
Zulkifli said the RCI comprised six highly respected experts in the judiciary, public administration, banking, shariah, and auditing, whose appointments were approved by the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, in July 2021.
He also noted a directive by the current Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim, for the authorities to leave no stone unturned in the investigations launched after the report was declassified.
After being briefed by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on the RCI’s findings on Aug 8, Sultan Ibrahim also said he wanted all responsible parties to be held accountable.
The RCI’s report concluded that a combination of excessive hibah commitments, questionable accounting practices, weak oversight, ambitious investment strategies, and rising subsidy obligations placed significant financial pressure on TH between 2014 and 2020.
The six-member commission, chaired by former chief justice Raus Sharif, found that TH had concealed the true state of its finances for years, reporting a RM3.4 billion profit in 2017 when it should have recorded a net loss of RM1.4 billion under the appropriate accounting standards – a discrepancy of nearly RM4.8 billion.
Overall, the RCI traced the roots of TH’s financial problems to political interference in board appointments, unsustainable hibah payouts and the national audit department softening its findings over concerns about depositor confidence. - FMT
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