KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 (Bernama) -- Calls for sweeping reforms to strengthen Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH), hold those responsible for past failings accountable and prevent a recurrence of governance weaknesses dominated today’s special Dewan Rakyat sitting on the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on the institution.
Over more than 10 hours of uninterrupted proceedings from 10 am, MPs also focused on strengthening protection for depositors’ interests and fully restoring public confidence in the institution responsible for managing haj affairs.
Among the issues raised were the need to expedite amendments to the Tabung Haji Act 1995 (Act 535), strengthen oversight of investments and financial management, and ensure TH’s leadership remains professional and free from political interference.
MPs also called for the RCI findings to be followed by thorough and transparent investigations to ensure those found to have committed misconduct or caused losses to TH are held accountable.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Dr Zulkifli Hasan, in his briefing, said the recovery and reform plans implemented since 2018 had helped put TH on a stronger footing by restoring its financial position, strengthening governance and improving investment quality.
The reforms also helped safeguard Muslims’ ability to perform the haj, with the cost maintained at RM33,300 for three consecutive seasons from 2024 to 2026.
In winding up the debate, Zulkifli stressed that the strength of an institution should not depend on individuals, but must be anchored in clear systems, processes, controls and governance.
“Every decision is made based on the law, policies, procedures, checks and balances and the interests of depositors. In short, individuals may change, but the system and governance principles must remain to ensure that depositors’ trust is always protected,” he said.
Seeking to reinforce public confidence in follow-up action on the Commission’s findings, Zulkifli said investigations had been initiated by the authorities, resulting in several individuals being detained in connection with alleged misconduct involving bribery, abuse of power and governance breaches.
He also stressed that the MADANI Government’s decision to delay the release of the RCI report was intended to give TH time to implement the Commission’s recommendations and recover from the weaknesses identified.
TH’s financial position also came under scrutiny, with Minister of Finance II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan detailing nearly RM13 billion in losses involving 14 problematic investments, including seven that recorded total losses.
In winding up the debate, he said RM10.2 billion of the amount was borne by the government through a rescue measure involving Urusharta Jamaah Sdn Bhd (UJSB) in 2018, while another RM2.6 billion represented impairment losses borne by TH between 2018 and 2025 for investments that remained under its management.
One of the investments highlighted involved Al-Rawda Real Estates Development & Project Management Co Ltd, to which 1.4 billion Saudi riyals, equivalent to about RM1.5 billion, was paid to an intermediary to lease four hotels in Madinah and Makkah for haj pilgrims.
However, the party concerned failed to settle the rental payments due to TH, resulting in the institution making a full impairment of RM1 billion in 2024.
The scale of the losses reinforced calls throughout the debate for every RCI finding to be followed by thorough and transparent investigations into any misconduct or weaknesses in TH’s management and investments.
Meanwhile, the government welcomed a proposal to establish a ‘multi-agency task force’ to investigate investments at risk of incurring losses.
“Overall, the government’s actions are clear, namely to investigate, take enforcement action, recover assets and strengthen the law and governance to ensure that the trust and interests of TH depositors remain protected,” he said when winding up the debate.
A total of 39 MPs took part in today’s special sitting, which began at 10 am.
Earlier, several opposition MPs’ decision to leave the House and not take part in the debate drew criticism, including accusations that they had failed to fulfil their role in providing checks and balances and had boycotted the trust placed by more than 10 million TH depositors.
The RCI report on TH was made public on July 29, documenting various weaknesses in TH’s management and operations between 2014 and 2020 and making 25 recommendations for improvement, 75 per cent of which had been implemented by TH as of July 30.
-- BERNAMA