If Zahid asks, I will resign, but not at PKR Youth's demand - Asyraf

 

Umno secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki has rejected calls by PKR Youth to step down as the Mara chairperson over allegations linking him to the Tabung Haji scandal.

He said he would resign only if the minister in charge, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, asks him to.

“Not because of pressure from PKR Youth,” he told a press conference at Menara Dato Onn in Kuala Lumpur today.

Asyraf was responding to PKR Youth exco Dzul Hilmi Zainol’s call for the MACC’s investigation into Tabung Haji to be extended to him.

Last month, Asyraf denied any involvement in Tabung Haji decisions during his tenure as deputy minister, after questions over his attendance at a 2017 signing ceremony linked to the troubled investment in Al-Rawda Real Estate Development and Project Management Co Ltd.

The Umno leader said he attended the ceremony in his capacity as Malaysia’s chief of the haj delegation and, as he was in Mecca at the time, had been asked to represent the minister at the event.

The questions arose after Finance Minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan told the Dewan Rakyat on Aug 11 that Al-Rawda accounted for the largest loss among 14 problematic Tabung Haji investments.

The investments resulted in losses of almost RM13 billion, comprising RM10.2 billion borne by the government through the 2018 Urusharta Jamaah Sdn Bhd bailout and RM2.6 billion in impairment losses borne by Tabung Haji between 2018 and 2025.

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Perception game

Commenting further, Asyraf said he had never been called in the RCI probe, and his name had not been mentioned in its report.

“I have never been linked to any misconduct. This is just a perception game by groups that want to tear down the reputation of this institution,” he asserted.

In a statement yesterday, Dzul had questioned Asyraf’s attendance at the signing ceremony.

“What did he know about the deal? What was his role at the time?” he had asked.

Dzul Hilmi Zainol

Meanwhile, Asyraf urged all parties not to pursue political agendas that could negatively affect Mara’s image and credibility.

“Don’t make attempts to tear down its reputation using external elements that deliberately want to see this Malay institution fall.

“This is not about Asyraf, this is about the Mara institution,” he added.