Umno members adding to confusion around 1MDB-Tabung Haji deal, says Ku Nan

Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor says party members must unite instead of adding on to problems. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, May 11, 2015.

A top Ummo party official is blaming some of his partymen for “adding” to the confusion surrounding the land deal between 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and pilgrims’ fund Lembaga Tabung Haji, a Malay-language daily reported today.

Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor told Sinar Harian that party members must unite.

“We sometimes add on to the problems, like in the Tabung Haji issue. The ones adding on are none other than Umno members as well,” he was quoted as saying in the report.

He asked members who did not know the facts to get the right information.

"We must be loyal to the leadership. Why do we want to be involved with these things? Just serve the people, like today I am serving the party and the people," the secretary-general was quoted as saying in the report.

Last week, Tabung Haji paid 1MDB RM188.5 million for a plot of land at the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) development, at a time when the state investment arm is saddled with mounting debts.

1MDB is the brainchild of prime minister and Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Tabung Haji's purchase of the land triggered anger from some depositors who withdrew their money from the Shah Alam branch last Thursday.

The deal also raised questions from members of Najib's own cabinet, such as Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has also said it will look into the deal.

After days of public pressure, Tabung Haji chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim announced last Saturday that Tabung Haji would sell off the land at a slight profit, though no details were divulged.

Many politicians, including former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, have labelled the deal a "bailout" for 1MDB.

- TMI