TH chairman Rashid Hussain says no politicians have been appointed to the board since 2023, as the institution implements RCI recommendations.
BANGI: Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) has not made any political appointments or faced political interference under its current leadership as the institution moves towards a more professional governance structure, said its chairman Tan Sri Rashid Hussain.
Rashid said he had not allowed any politician to be appointed to the TH board since assuming the chairmanship in 2023, stressing that the institution must be managed professionally as a credible Islamic financial institution.
“Since I entered TH, I basically haven’t allowed a single politician (to be appointed) in TH.
“Basically, I’m very lucky, I worked with two very good Ministers, my previous Minister and this Minister, that understood I’m not a politician, and I do not want politics TH,” he told reporters at the Dialog Ummah: Realiti dan Masa Depan TH programme here today.
He said TH should be treated as a credible Islamic financial institution and managed professionally to facilitate the Hajj pilgrimage and serve the Muslim community.
Rashid said the composition of the current board was based on two key principles recommended by the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI), namely the fit and proper criteria and a balance of skills required by the institution.
He said the approach had enabled the board to play a more hands-on role through various board committees, while ensuring that decisions were made based on professional expertise.
“And Alhamdulillah, there has not been any political interference whatsoever. I can assure you that from both the ministers that I worked with,” he said.
Rashid said the professional management approach had contributed to TH’s financial recovery, including strengthening its balance sheet, building reserves and returning the institution to profitability.
He said TH had recorded higher profits and dividends over the past three years, with the positive trend expected to continue.
“We are very much on the road to recovery, and we have done so. We have cleaned up the balance sheet, started building reserves, written off everything, and put proper governance measures in place,” he emphasised.
Asked about the most challenging RCI recommendations to resolve, Rashid said that TH had implemented 76 per cent of the 25 recommendations.
“In fact, it involves external parties; the external links are not that easy because it’s a long process,” he shared.
On July 29, the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) published the 211-page RCI report on the investigation into the management and operations of Tabung Haji (TH) for the period from 2014 to 2020.
The report contains various findings relating to weaknesses in the management of the institution during the period, as well as 25 recommendations for improvement, 75 per cent of which had been implemented by TH as of July 30.
