Dewan Rakyat will hold a special sitting today to debate the RCI report on Tabung Haji’s management and operations between 2014 and 2020.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Dewan Rakyat will hold a special sitting today to deliberate on the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on Lembaga Tabung Haji’s management and operations from 2014 to 2020.
The sitting, slated to begin at 10 am, will allow MPs to scrutinise the 211-page report released publicly on July 29 after the government decided its findings should be disclosed.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Dr Zulkifli Hasan is scheduled to open the sitting by presenting a ministerial briefing on the report, followed by questions and debate by MPs, before the winding up session by both Zulkifli and Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan.
Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil previously said at least 40 MPs had expressed interest in taking part in the debate.
The RCI identified several weaknesses in Tabung Haji’s management and operations and proposed 25 reforms. As of 30 July, the institution had implemented 75 per cent of the recommendations.
Among the RCI’s key findings were governance failures, political interference in management and profit distributions that did not adequately account for investment impairments and declines in fair value.
The report said Tabung Haji would have recorded a net loss of RM1.4 billion in 2017, rather than the reported RM3.4 billion profit, had the Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards (MFRS) been fully applied.
It found that the institution’s finances were in a critical state at the time, with a deficit between assets and liabilities dating back to 2014 and several unresolved investment impairment issues.
Factors contributing to the financial crisis included high hibah distributions, creative accounting, insufficient scrutiny by the Auditor-General, an expanded mandate to become a pillar of the Muslim economy and growing Haj Financial Assistance (HAFIS) costs.
The RCI also identified suspicious transactions and the concealment of information.
It recommended a forensic audit and urged the authorities to take swift, firm action on police reports and complaints concerning Tabung Haji’s management and operations between 2014 and 2020.
The full live broadcast of the sitting can be watched via BERNAMA TV on ASTRO 502, UNIFI TV 631 and MyTV 121, or via BERNAMA TV’s Facebook Live and YouTube.
