Zulkifli Hasan urged Opposition MPs to return to the Dewan Rakyat and debate the Tabung Haji RCI report, saying the institution belongs to Muslims.
KUALA LUMPUR: Tabung Haji must not be dragged into partisan politics as it belongs to Malaysia’s Muslims and not to any government or political party, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Dr Zulkifli Hasan said today.
Expressing disappointment over the Opposition walkout during the special Dewan Rakyat sitting on the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on Tabung Haji, Zulkifli urged Opposition MPs to return to the chamber and debate the findings if they genuinely wanted to champion the interests of Muslims.
“I am deeply disappointed by the conduct of the Opposition this morning. We want to discuss an institution that is very important and dear to Malaysian Muslims, yet they chose to leave the House,” he said.
Zulkifli said political differences should not prevent Parliament from discussing matters concerning an institution entrusted with the savings of millions of Muslims.
“We can belong to different parties. We can have different views. We can debate fiercely in this House.
“But there are institutions that should not be dragged into the political arena. Tabung Haji is one of them,” he said.
He stressed that Tabung Haji did not belong to the current government, the previous government or any political party, but was an amanah, or trust, of Malaysian Muslims.
He said every ringgit deposited with Tabung Haji represented the hopes of ordinary Malaysians saving to perform the Haj.
“There is a mother saving to perform the Haj with her husband, a father who has been saving since his youth, a child whose account was opened when they were young, and a retiree who has waited decades for what may be a once-in-a-lifetime journey,” he said.
Zulkifli said fishermen and farmers in rural areas had also made sacrifices to save with Tabung Haji despite not necessarily understanding technical financial terms such as Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards or impairment.
“But they know one thing. They trust Tabung Haji,” he said.
He said that trust had previously been jeopardised by irresponsible actions and was now being rebuilt.
Zulkifli warned against allowing political interests, abuse of power or manipulation of financial figures to undermine the institution again.
“Let us never again allow Tabung Haji to become a victim of the abuse of power.
“Let us never again allow political interests to override the interests of depositors and Muslims. Let us never again allow figures to be manipulated to conceal weaknesses,” he said.
He said those entrusted with managing Tabung Haji must be selected based on integrity and competence, regardless of which government was in power.
Zulkifli also quoted a hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah, warning of the consequences when trust is lost and responsibility is entrusted to those who are not qualified.
He said depositors were not merely entrusting their savings to Tabung Haji, but also their confidence in the institution.
“When a person entrusts his money to Tabung Haji, he is not merely entrusting his savings. He is entrusting his trust.
“That trust cannot be bought with slogans. It must be earned through integrity, proven through action and defended regardless of who is in power,” he said.
Zulkifli said the government must ensure the lessons from the RCI report were not forgotten and that Tabung Haji remained protected as an institution serving Malaysian Muslims.
