PARLIAMENT | PKR vice-president Amirudin Shari today urged Putrajaya to disclose the amount of Tabung Haji depositors' funds used to cover 1MDB-related debts.
In his debate speech at the Dewan Rakyat, Amirudin (Harapan-Gombak) pointed to the royal commission of inquiry report on Lembaga Tabung Haji - which showed the pilgrimage fund had sustained losses in the millions of ringgit from its troubled investment in Putrajaya Perdana Berhad (PPB) in 2014.
PPB is an entity linked to SRC International, then a subsidiary of 1MDB. SRC International reportedly channelled some RM140 million to PPB subsidiaries, of which RM27 million ended up in bank accounts belonging to then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.
"My question is, in total, how much of Tabung Haji depositors' money had been used to pay off 1MDB debts and cover the company's wrongdoings since 2014?
"What investment assessment reports were used by Tabung Haji’s management, and was there any political pressure for the funds to be used without complying with the investment conditions and criteria?" Amirudin (above) said when debating the RCI report.
According to the report, Tabung Haji had purchased the stakes in PPB from a company called Cendana Destini for RM193.5 million in November 2014.
However, PPB could not get publicly listed within a year of the investment and failed to generate its targeted profit of RM86 million for 2015.
This subsequently led to Tabung Haji suffering impairment losses, with the stake in the company today valued at only RM48.2 million.
Forensic audits on 14 troubled investments
Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muda-Muar) called for the government to carry out forensic audits on Tabung Haji's 14 troubled investments revealed in the RCI report.
This includes the investment in PPB, which he said was under the control of fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low.
"But Low himself was ultimately the one who received hundreds of millions of ringgit in investments into his companies, using money from Tabung Haji depositors.
"If it had generated profits, that would be one thing, but the RCI report shows that the losses suffered by Muslims amounted to more than RM150 million.
"I believe that if a forensic audit is conducted, we would know who else benefited apart from Low, and we need to bring those individuals or groups to justice," he said.
Meanwhile, Aminuddin Harun (Harapan-Port Dickson) raised a question on 1MDB forking out RM57 million to sponsor 5,711 individuals to perform haj between 2011 and 2017.
He said the participants were chosen from among community leaders who had influence in their local communities such as village chiefs and committee members, and the selection was done without following the concept of “istitoah” (capability to perform pilgrimage).
"This raises the question: was this programme purely for welfare purposes, or did it also provide political benefits to a particular party?
"The source of funding for the programme should also be explained transparently: was it actually funded with the depositors’ own money, or was it linked to the misappropriated 1MDB funds?" Aminuddin asked.
Probe Azeez’s involvement
Another MP, Dr Zaliha Mustafa (Harapan-Sekijang) wants Putrajaya to investigate the extent of Tabung Haji chairperson Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim's involvement in the funds' investment decisions.
Zaliha said she learned that while Azeez was a non-executive chairperson, he had allegedly played major roles in several investment negotiations.
"I was made to understand that the total amount of money in bank accounts linked to him at that time reached RM170 million.
"Is this true? I want the government to explain this matter.
"We also cannot close an eye on the fact that Tabung Haji was linked to individuals or companies which had political ties," she said. - Mkini
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