There is no stopping UMNO Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh who has now argued that since the country's pilgrim fund was audited by the National Audit Department what is the fuss all about?
Call it déjà vu or whatever, but to some, all the noise coming from UMNO lately on the Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) controversy may be reminiscent of the early days of the 1MDB debacle.
Meanwhile, undaunted by all the negative vibes, UMNO Youth Chief Akmal Saleh took to his popular Facebook page recently to ostensibly give the entire country a piece of his mind over the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report.
In what seemed like demanding proof of the alleged embezzlement in TH, the firebrand Merlimau assemblyman pressed: Was there actual corruption (sakau) or was it all just administrative failure?
He then went on to ask defiantly: So who among the UMNO politicians was actually involved and accused of corruption?
Finally, he roared triumphantly: Can paying out high dividends to depositors and high subsidies to pilgrims be considered theft?
But hold on. Is Akmal completely missing the point?
The RCI report may not have proven that politicians had directly siphoned off funds, but that does not exempt those running the statutory body from alleged serious governance failures that have caused colossal “losses” running into billions.
And we're talking about the monetary contributions from millions of devoted Muslims here, all harbouring hopes of a pilgrimage to their holy land. Moreover, TH is not a private investment company!
True, as Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman rightly pointed out, the report shouldn't be used to accuse politicians of theft without proof—but it certainly shouldn't be used to downplay the massive failures uncovered either.
In fact, according to Syed Saddiq, the report does show billions of ringgit in losses. This inevitably begs the question: How did all that disappear into thin air?
He added that inexperienced and unqualified leaders were appointed to crucial positions in the body to make major investment decisions.
But the suspicion remains: were there deeper ethical issues given the political nature of some of the appointments?
Syed Saddiq also pointed out that the RCI is not empowered to ascertain whether criminal corruption had taken place. Only forensic audits can zero in on that and unearth any possible wrongdoings in the pilgrim fund’s troubled investments.
Whatever it is, though the RCI report was only released four years after its completion, it certainly has sparked a major controversy and raised a thousand and one questions.
Admittedly, there is no solid evidence of direct theft as yet, but what many would like to ask the apologists in UMNO is: is gross mismanagement of the country's primary pilgrim fund not a huge offense?
The reality is that TH had to be salvaged using billions. Yet some UMNO politicians seem bent on giving the impression that no grave mistakes were committed. Again, shades of 1MDB?
As for the so-called “creative accounting”, that allegedly portrays a stronger financial position than the actual state of affairs, from whichever angle one looks at it, it is still wrong—more so when it involves the savings of innocent folks meant for their religious pilgrimage!
Most significantly, irrespective of what UMNO leaders may claim, didn't the entire episode happen under their watch?
Can they simply wash their hands of it now?
Clearly then, shouldn't they accept full responsibility?
Anyway, it is good that the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) has promptly announced that it will immediately review the RCI report into TH’s operations from 2014 to 2020.
The AGC further assured that any decision to prosecute will be based strictly on law and admissible evidence—not external noise, and certainly not political posturing.
Like it or not, UMNO has no choice but to admit that the RCI did find clear evidence of suspicious transactions and the deliberate hiding of information. Period.
Furthermore, surely now those who are truly concerned about TH will demand that henceforth all active politicians be barred from sitting on the board, and instead, only qualified professionals be appointed to run it.
The thing is, TH does not belong to UMNO, PKR or any political party for that matter—it essentially belongs to the Muslim community in this country.
Ironically, it is Lim Guan Eng as the Finance Minister back then during the short-lived PH-Mahathir era who has been credited—albeit belatedly—with restructuring and "saving" the pilgrim fund from a potential collapse.
But would the like of Akmal and others ever humbly accept this fact?
Ultimately, with many in UMNO shrugging off the damning findings of the RCI, the burning question now is: if indeed the devastating recent Negeri Sembilan election defeat was a wake-up call to Anwar, will he ensure that those responsible for the Tabung Haji imbroglio—including those from his so-called ally—are finally hauled to court and charged?
Main information source: Malay Mail and FMT.
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