The Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on Tabung Haji (TH) has highlighted five major issues, including suspicious transactions and the distribution of hibah despite negative reserves, which eventually led the government to implement a financial rescue plan.
Bersama Malaysia chairman Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli said the findings confirmed that questionable transactions and information concealment had contributed to billions of ringgit in losses involving the Islamic fund management institution.
The former Economy Minister said the report found that TH’s reserves had entered negative territory from the 2015 financial year before reaching a critical point in 2017, resulting in the then Pakatan Harapan (PH) government under Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad approving a RM19.9 billion rescue plan.
Rafizi claimed the RCI report also found that hibah payments continued between 2014 and 2017 despite TH’s financial position, which he said was carried out due to political considerations.
He alleged that TH had introduced internal accounting practices to allow hibah payments to continue even when reserves were negative, despite concerns over compliance with financial reporting standards.
The report also stated that the final value of the TH recovery plan through Urusharta Jamaah Sdn Bhd (UJSB) could reach RM27.8 billion upon maturity, with Rafizi describing the move as a temporary measure that depends on the Federal Government’s ability to fulfil its financial commitments.
Rafizi said he supported most of the RCI recommendations, including holding TH board members, subsidiary companies and senior officers accountable for decisions made during the institution’s financial difficulties.
He also backed calls for forensic accounting investigations alongside probes by enforcement agencies including the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Securities Commission Malaysia, Royal Malaysia Police and Bank Negara Malaysia to determine whether any criminal elements were involved.
According to Rafizi, the government must also provide a clear and transparent decision on the future model of hajj financing to ensure rising subsidy costs do not threaten TH’s long-term sustainability.
He added that the issue was personal to him as he was among the first politicians to raise concerns over TH’s negative reserve position in Parliament in 2016, followed by numerous disclosures involving alleged misconduct, missing investments and links to financial controversies.
Rafizi said the release of the RCI report would allow the public to evaluate the findings independently while also clearing his name from accusations made by political opponents over his previous disclosures regarding Tabung Haji.
