SHAH ALAM, Aug 11 - A special investigation task force involving multiple enforcement agencies should be established to examine the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on Tabung Haji (TH), including identifying any offences and those responsible.
Gombak MP Dato' Seri Amirudin Shari said the task force should involve the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Bank Negara Malaysia, the Malaysian Securities Commission (SC), and the National Anti-Financial Crime Centre (NFCC).
"I would like to propose that the RCI findings or report remain as a historical record that can be examined. This is so that the decisions of the House can be acted upon by a special investigation task force involving the police, the MACC, Bank Negara, SC, and the NFCC.
"This is because the matter does not only involve offences under the Tabung Haji Act, but has also tarnished the image of a country that has long been highly respected," he said during the debate at a special sitting of the Dewan Rakyat in Parliament today.
Amirudin added that the RCI findings should be followed by more comprehensive action, as the mismanagement of TH at the time was not merely a matter of ordinary negligence under the Tabung Haji Act 1995 (Act 535).
Among the issues requiring attention is the distribution of profits or hibah, which was alleged to contravene Section 22 of Act 535, which stipulates that hibah may be paid only if total assets exceed total liabilities.
However, he said that the penalties or measures provided for under the law were inadequate, and as such, the authorities should take firmer action to ensure that similar incidents did not recur.
"The issue here is that, from what I have seen, this section imposes only very minor penalties. For an offence, the punishment is imprisonment for not less than three months, as well as a RM5,000 fine for a first offence.
"For a second offence, it is only RM10,000 and three or six months' imprisonment. And I believe action should be taken to ensure that this does not happen again.
"A good Act and sound legislation can deter or prevent certain parties from committing offences such as those that have been committed in other cases or dealings," Amirudin said.
On July 29, the government decided to make the 211-page RCI report public, which exposed various weaknesses in TH's management and operations between 2014 and 2020.
