Under oath, in the criminal defamation trial against Rafizi Ramli in March 2018, the then Chief Financial Officer of the Tabung Haji Board, Rozaida Omar, told the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate’s Court that there was a sudden withdrawal of savings by depositors during the period the allegations were made against Tabung Haji in 2016.
Rafizi’s claim that depositors cannot get their deposits back, he told the court, was a false statement, although some of Tabung Haji's reserves were in a negative state.
“We do not deny some negative reserves, but if we take into account the market value, the value of its assets is higher than its liabilities. So negative reserves do not mean that Tabung Haji cannot pay (the savings),” he said.
Rafizi was acquitted in 2019 after the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) accepted the arguments in a representation letter sent by his lawyers.
Before charging him, the police recorded statements from Rafizi which would have explained how he arrived at that conclusion. Why was no action taken when the authorities had already gathered the information?
If there was none, on what basis was the case dropped?
But two years earlier, Rafizi highlighted several weaknesses and shortcomings that prompted then Tabung Haji Chairman Azeez Rahim to claim that his criticisms of the purported poor financial health were politically motivated, an attempt to turn the fund’s depositors against him.
“If you want to attack me, attack me politically but don’t involve Tabung Haji without making checks… stop it,” he said.
But Rafizi fired back: He told Azeez to give up his position if he could not deal with the flurry of questions on the financial status of the Muslim pilgrims’ fund, saying his Umno counterpart has had a dubious run in his public explanations concerning the board’s investment decisions and reiterated his previous call for a non-politician to helm LTH.
“Till now, he has not presented figures to deny my allegations apart from reiterating that they are mere slander. The best there is no political interference in Tabung Haji,” Rafizi said in a statement in response to Azeez’s reported remarks.
Why the rewind the flashback, you may ask.
If such warnings had been heeded and action taken, not only Tabung Haji, but other agencies and government companies would not be in the mess they are now.
In the past, under the BN government, Umno and its leaders could do no wrong. Complaints and reports were either ignored or responded to with denials. Besides, copious amounts of propaganda delivered by a pliant mainstream media and its editors did the trick.
Remember the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal in 2007, the 1MDB losses in 2017? And more recently, Littoral Combat Ships (LCS). Combined, they cost us, the taxpayers, a hefty MRM60 billion.
This writer had written extensively on the PKFZ since 2005 on its mismanagement, cost overruns, bloated invoices etc but not only was no action taken, but the government chose to ignore the warnings. The final loss was RM12.4 billion – paid by taxpayers – you and me.
Add these to Tabung Haji’s losses of billions (which have yet to be totalled), and there’ll be enough to build more hospitals, train and employ doctors and ancillary support services and improve the health care system.
There’ll be spare change to build more schools, employ more qualified teachers, cut taxes and essential goods, and many more.
But here is a warning: The RCI report says that the government’s RM88 billion guarantee to Tabung Haji depositors will be activated only if the pilgrimage board fails to implement its 2018 recovery and restructuring plan.
“If it fails, the government's guarantee to depositors, which is currently worth RM88 billion, will have to be activated.
“In such circumstances, not only will Tabung Haji bear the consequences, but the government’s fiscal position will also be affected, risking the country's fiscal systemic stability,’ the report said.
What is most annoying is that some Umno leaders and their supporters are claiming there was no “sakau” or theft of money. So, if there was no theft, where did the money go?
Who authorised the payment of bonuses and the purchase of assets? Who appointed the directors of the subsidiaries? How much was paid out to directors in fees and meeting allowances?
Who benefitted from the deal to buy a piece of land at 43 times the market price? Who approved hefty bonuses when the organization was teetering at the brink of insolvency? If all was hunky dory, why the need for the government to interfere?
The RCI report, like the PKFZ Special Audit Report, is a catalogue of abuse and misuse of public funds. Do we learn from mistakes and bring the culprits to book or tutup satu mata (close one eye) and pretend that semuanya ok (all is okay -- to use former Selangor Mentri Besar Khir Toyo’s infamous phrase).
The Tabung Haji saga is not an isolated blemish but part of a recurring pattern in Malaysia’s governance — where whistleblowers are vilified, accountability is deflected, and billions vanish under the guise of “no theft.”
Rafizi’s stood firm and asked all the right questions, only to be prosecuted. His acquittal may have cleared his name, but the larger question remains unanswered: who will clear the rot in our institutions?
The RCI has laid bare the abuse, yet unless Parliament and enforcement agencies act decisively, history will repeat itself.
Malaysians deserve more than excuses and political theatre. They have been clamouring for transparency, restitution, and leaders who treat public funds as sacred trust, not personal tills.
Signs that politicians and their parties had listened to such clarion calls resulted in the PH government coming to power in 2022, but has anything changed?
Selected politicians who plunder the nation’s wealth to buy million-ringgit jewellery for their wives and luxury watches continue to be pandered to and treated with velvet gloves, while the law comes down hard on lesser mortals like single mothers who steal milk to feed their hungry babies.
Until then, every scandal -- from PKFZ to 1MDB to LCS and now Tabung Haji — will stand as a grim reminder that without reform, we are condemned to pay the price of corruption again and again.
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