Forensic audits done on TH investments, says minister

 Zulkifli Hasan says the government is also considering a multi-agency task force to investigate investments at risk of incurring losses.

Religious affairs minister Zulkifli Hasan said the RCI report was not released earlier as the government wanted to give TH time to recover from a 2019 confidence crisis.

KUALA LUMPUR:

Forensic audits have already been carried out on the Tabung Haji (TH) investments flagged in the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) report, says religious affairs minister Zulkifli Hasan.

Zulkifli said this while winding up today’s special Dewan Rakyat sitting on the RCI report.

He was responding to questions on forensic audits and a proposed multi-agency task force to investigate TH’s investments.

The report had recommended forensic audits of 14 past TH investments, including PT TH Indo Plantations, FGV Bhd and TH Plantations Bhd.

“Forensic auditing has already been conducted on the investments listed in the RCI report,” the minister said, without elaborating on when the audits began, which investments were covered, who carried them out, or what they found.

Zulkifli said the government is considering a proposal to set up a multi-agency task force to investigate TH investments at risk of incurring losses.

“A separate task force involving TH, Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission Malaysia is reviewing the oversight framework for TH’s fund management and investments,” he said.

On why the RCI report was not released earlier, Zulkifli said the government had chosen to give TH time to recover from a 2019 confidence crisis, when about RM6 billion was withdrawn by depositors within a short period.

“The Madani government chose to give TH room to recover first. Today, when TH’s position is much stronger, we have chosen to open the report to the public,” he said, adding that 75% of the RCI recommendations had been implemented.

Zulkifli went on to say that questions about why the report was not released after it was completed in 2022 should be directed at the government led by Ismail Sabri Yaakob, the prime minister at the time.

“Why did you all not ask the government directly at that time?” he said.

Zulkifli also confirmed that the 2021 termination of the contracts of then TH CEO Nik Hasyudeen Yusoff and chairman Nor Yusof was decided by then religious affairs minister Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri.

He said no reason was given by the minister at the time for the decision. - FMT