Kuala Lumpur: Former Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (pic) was charged at the Sessions Court on Wednesday with using his position to secure the chairmanship of a company and influencing TH board members to approve a proposed RM193.5 million investment in the company 12 years ago.
Abdul Azeez, 59, who is also the former Baling member of Parliament, pleaded not guilty after the charge was read out before Judge Azura Alwi.
“Understood the charge. The allegation is completely untrue and a trial is requested,” Abdul Azeez said.
According to the charge, Abdul Azeez allegedly used his position as TH chairman to obtain gratification in the form of the chairmanship of Putrajaya Perdana Berhad, with remuneration of RM690,000 annually, as well as the use of a BMW 7 Series car and a permanent driver.
He allegedly instructed then TH chief executive officer Tan Sri Ismee Ismail to propose his name as TH’s representative on the company’s board.
Abdul Azeez was also accused of influencing TH board members during the TH Board of Directors Meeting No. 4/2014 to approve an investment of up to RM193.5 million, involving up to 30 per cent of the existing issued share capital in Putrajaya Perdana Berhad, in which he had an interest.
The offence was allegedly committed at the TH Board Meeting Room, Tabung Haji Building, 201 Jalan Tun Razak here, on Aug 25, 2014.
The charge, framed under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, carries a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of five times the value of the gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
Judge Azura allowed Abdul Azeez bail of RM450,000 with two local sureties, subject to an additional condition that he report to the Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office every three months pending disposal of the case.
The court set Nov 11 for mention to facilitate the submission of documents.
Earlier, deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Datuk Ahmad Akram Gharib told the court that an offence under Section 23 of the MACC Act is non-bailable, but left the matter to the court’s discretion.
“If the court allows bail, the prosecution proposes RM1 million with two local sureties who are not family members of the accused,” he said.
Another DPP, Law Chin How, also applied for Abdul Azeez’s passport to be surrendered to the court, citing a flight risk.
Law said there was a clear possibility of a flight risk in the case, given that the offence faced by the accused is non-bailable, as well as the amount of money involved as stated in the charge.
“So, the issue of surrendering a passport to the court is neither new nor unusual. The accused can apply to the court to have his passport returned if he intends to travel abroad,” he said.
He said the accused would usually be aware of his travel plans well in advance, adding that the prosecution would not deliberately delay or prolong the application process.
“This would not affect the accused’s right to travel,” he said.
Meanwhile, lawyer Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, who represented Abdul Azeez, urged the court to set a reasonable bail amount, saying it should not be excessive as bail was intended only to ensure the accused’s attendance in court, not to punish him.
Amer Hamzah also applied for Abdul Azeez’s international passport not to be retained by the court, arguing that there was no evidence indicating he posed a flight risk and that he needed to travel overseas for business purposes.
“Since June this year, my client has been appointed as a consultant for a company in China, requiring him to travel abroad. Continued retention of his passport could affect his ability to carry out his responsibilities,” he said.
He said Abdul Azeez had been under investigation since 2018 and had fully cooperated with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
“This case has taken years and there is no evidence that my client interfered with witnesses or the investigation. After the recent remand period, he knew charges would be brought against him and could have fled if he had intended to do so.
“Instead, he contacted his lawyers and said he was ready to face any charges because he knew he was not guilty,” he said.
The defence proposed bail of no more than RM500,000, with an additional condition that Abdul Azeez report to the Kuala Lumpur MACC office every three to four months.
However, Ahmad Akram maintained that the prosecution wanted Abdul Azeez’s international passport to be surrendered and kept by the court throughout the trial.
During the proceedings, Amer Hamzah was assisted by lawyers Datuk Abu Bakar Isa Ramat, Ashok Athimulan and Joshua Tay. Also present were Abdul Azeez’s supporters, including family members and his son.
On Aug 27, Abdul Azeez was remanded for seven days until Sept 2 to assist investigations following disclosures related to the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on TH.
The TH RCI report, uploaded on the official portal of the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) on July 29, recommended a forensic audit into past investment decisions that led to a significant decline in the institution’s asset value.
The report, which examined TH’s management and operations from 2014 to 2020, also identified troubled investments requiring forensic audits and found suspicious transactions and concealment of information.
The RCI investigation covered issues related to TH during the period based on findings by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Ernst & Young (EY) and Roland Berger, while excluding the restructuring and recovery plans being implemented at the time.
