PARLIAMENT | Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Zulkifli Hasan said the government delayed releasing the royal commission of inquiry report on Tabung Haji to give the institution time to recover first.
Wrapping up the special Dewan Rakyat debate on the report today, Zulkifli said that although a recovery plan had been implemented since 2018, Tabung Haji still had to manage less competitive legacy assets that remained on its books.
He said a crisis of confidence in 2019 also saw RM6 billion withdrawn by depositors within a short period.
“That was the history. In this matter, the Madani government chose to give Tabung Haji room to restore the institution first.
“Today, with Tabung Haji in a much stronger position, we chose to open the RCI report to the people. Alhamdulillah, the government expresses its highest appreciation to Tabung Haji’s management and all parties who succeeded in restoring it so successfully,” he said.
Zulkifli was responding to MPs who questioned why the RCI report had taken so long to be made public.
He also said forensic audits had already been carried out on investments identified in the report, while the government was considering a multi-agency task force to investigate investments at risk of losses.
“For the information of the honourable members, forensic audits have already been carried out on the investments listed in the RCI report, while the proposal to establish a multi-agency task force to investigate each investment at risk of losses is welcomed and will be studied for implementation,” he said.
Forensic task force proposal
Zulkifli said the government was also considering Padang Serai MP Azman Nasrudin’s proposal for a dedicated forensic task force and whether enforcement agencies had sufficient funding.
“The government takes all elements of misconduct and misappropriation seriously.
“The MACC and the Royal Malaysia Police have already begun investigations and enforcement action, while Tabung Haji has given its full cooperation through six reports lodged with the police and six reports lodged with the MACC.
“The proposal for a special forensic task force and the availability of budgets will be examined by the relevant parties for consideration,” he said.
Earlier, Radzi Jidin (PN-Putrajaya) called for the lessons from the RCI to be applied beyond Tabung Haji.
He proposed a “super-regulatory body” to oversee major non-bank financial institutions managing public savings and funds, including Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT), Employees Provident Fund (EPF), Retirement Fund Incorporated (KWAP), Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) and PTPTN.
“At present, we do not have a clear and comprehensive regulatory framework for Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NBFIs),” Radzi said.
He said placing Tabung Haji’s fund management under Securities Commission supervision alone would not be enough.
“The RCI’s recommendation for Tabung Haji’s fund management to be supervised by the Securities Commission is insufficient. A comprehensive approach is needed.
“What happens if, after this, there are problems at LTAT or KWAP, for example? Are we going to set up another RCI?” asked Radzi, who then suggested Australia’s Prudential Regulation Authority as a possible model to be adopted.
Course of action
Zulkifli further said the government was also strengthening the Tabung Haji Act, including provisions on accounting standards and penalties for misreporting financial statements.
Since 2022, he said, profit distributions have been announced based on audited annual financial statements.
A task force comprising Tabung Haji, Bank Negara and the Securities Commission is also examining the supervisory framework for the fund’s investments and fund management.
“Overall, the government’s course of action is clear: to investigate, take enforcement action, recover assets, and strengthen laws and governance to ensure that the trust placed in Tabung Haji and the interests of depositors continue to be protected,” Zulkifli said.
A total of 39 MPs from various parties took part in the debate, except those from PAS and Wawasan Negara, who boycotted the sitting following the absence of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Dewan Rakyat Speaker Johari Abdul later postponed the sitting to an undetermined date, noting it had gone on for more than 10 hours. - Mkini
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