N SEMBILAN POLLS | The newly released Royal Commission of Inquiry report into Lembaga Tabung Haji took centre stage at Pakatan Harapan’s campaign ceramah last night.
Coalition leaders used its findings to push back against the BN-Perikatan Nasional narrative of Malay unity.
Among them were Harapan chairperson and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, as well as Amanah president Mohamad Sabu, who urged voters, particularly Malays, to reject what they described as racial messaging by their rivals.
Although they did not name BN directly, their remarks appeared aimed at the Umno-led coalition, whose leaders were in charge of Tabung Haji during the period when the fund allegedly suffered billions of ringgit in losses.
Mohamad, better known as Mat Sabu, told an audience in Desa Cempaka, Nilai, that the report showed Malay and Chinese ministers helping rescue the Islamic fund after Harapan came to power in 2018.
“One of the things that was revealed in the report is that among those who saved Tabung Haji were our then minister in charge of Islamic affairs, Mujahid Rawa, and then finance minister Lim Guan Eng.
“So, what do the Malays want to say now? Everyone should read this report.
“The Chinese community and DAP have always been accused of being the bad guys. But what is this? We do not support anyone who does wrong, regardless of race, just as we support those who do good,” Mohamad said.
Protector of the Malays
At Harapan’s grand finale ceramah in Seremban, Anwar separately urged voters to use their ballots to punish BN over the Tabung Haji issue.
He said the pilgrimage fund could have become bankrupt had the Harapan-led government not intervened.
“Send them a message in this election. Enough is enough. Take care of this state.
“Whatever weakness we have, do not ever allow people to plunder the rakyat’s money,” Anwar said.
He also appeared to mock Umno for portraying itself as a protector of the Malays.
He implied that a certain party had been visiting Malay villages in Negeri Sembilan while chanting the “Hidup Melayu” slogan, despite allowing Tabung Haji to suffer major losses under their watch.
“This is not a Chinese problem. Some had been blaming the Chinese who support DAP for supposedly causing damage to the country.
“But this Tabung Haji is (run) by the Malays. This is a Malay problem, nothing to do with the Chinese,” Anwar said.
Also at the Seremban event, Mujahid echoed similar criticism, accusing BN of using racial rhetoric while claiming to champion Malay and Islamic causes.
“You said you are fighting for the Malays and Islam’s struggle. But what kind of Islam and Malay struggle is this?”
The government yesterday released the full RCI report into Tabung Haji, which found serious governance failures, political interference, and questionable accounting practices contributed to the fund’s financial difficulties between 2014 and 2020. - Mkini
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