TH failures point to political complicity, say commentators
A Kadir Jasin says the scandal was deliberately concealed, while Ahmad Zaharuddin Sani Ahmad Sabri warns against dismissing repeated questionable investments as mere mismanagement
A Kadir Jasin, Ahmad Zaharuddin Sani Ahmad Sabri and Khalid Ahmad call for greater scrutiny of Tabung Haji’s troubled investments and governance failures.
PETALING JAYA: The scale and pattern of failures uncovered at Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) raise questions over whether political complicity enabled questionable investments to proceed unchecked, say commentators.
Global Asia Consulting analyst Ahmad Zaharuddin Sani Ahmad Sabri said repeated failures involving large sums could no longer be dismissed as isolated investment mistakes.
“When failures keep recurring in an institution that is supposed to have proper governance, risk assessment and strict approval processes, we cannot stop at the word ‘loss’.
“We need to ask who made the decisions, on what basis they were made, and who had influence over those decisions,” he said.
Zaharuddin said “mismanagement” should not end the discussion if political interference, pressure or interests had influenced decision-making.
“If there was political interference behind that mismanagement, then we are dealing with something far more serious than managers making bad decisions. It could point to a wider institutional vulnerability or weakness,” he said.
However, he cautioned against accusing individuals without evidence, saying the royal commission of inquiry (RCI), audits and investigations must establish the facts.
Last Tuesday, Second Finance Minister Amir Hamzah Azizan told the Dewan Rakyat that seven of the 14 troubled investments identified by the RCI had ended in total losses, but investigations were continuing.
Among those drawing scrutiny was the Al-Rawda hotel arrangement, in which TH paid about RM1.5 billion upfront through an intermediary for long-term leases of four hotels in Saudi Arabia before appointing the same party to operate them.
Another involved the sale of an Indonesian plantation, in which TH advanced US$178.6 million to the buyer after it failed to meet its payment obligations, effectively financing the purchaser of TH’s own asset.
National journalism laureate A Kadir Jasin said the scandal was not simply allowed to be swept under the carpet — it was “deliberately swept under the carpet”.
“It was a conspiracy and a racket of the worst kind, using the savings of would-be pilgrims.
“They were so well protected that they openly ignored Bank Negara Malaysia’s advice,” he told FMT.
BNM had warned TH as early as 2014 over its reserves, liquidity and deposit management, and raised further concerns in 2015 that its assets were insufficient to meet its liabilities.
However, TH disputed BNM’s assessment, saying the central bank had not taken into account the fair value of its wider investment portfolio.
Thorough audit needed
Former ACCA Malaysia Advisory Committee president Khalid Ahmad said it was still premature to draw definitive conclusions about all 14 troubled investments identified by the RCI.
He said each investment should undergo a thorough examination to establish what went wrong, whether controls were breached and whether there was misconduct.
“This is people’s money. The amanah aspect of getting to the bottom of every investment is very important,” he said.
Khalid said the disclosure that seven of the 14 troubled investments had ended in total losses made it even more important to scrutinise all 14 deals thoroughly.
“If it is 100% lost, we need to know how that conclusion was reached and why. The remaining seven must also continue to be investigated,” he said.
Four-year delay questioned
The RCI completed its report in July 2022, but it was only declassified and released on July 29 this year. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the delay was to allow TH’s recovery and restructuring to proceed without undermining depositor confidence or triggering withdrawals.
Government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil later said TH chairman Abdul Rashid Hussain had also requested in 2023 that the report not be released immediately, to give the institution time to rebuild depositors’ confidence.
Kadir rejected the justification for withholding the RCI report for about four years after it was completed in 2022.
“The government should have acted the moment the report was handed over to the King. You cannot use the King’s name to start an inquiry and then hide the outcome from the public,” he said.
Zaharuddin similarly questioned the four-year delay, saying prolonged secrecy inevitably raised suspicions over who benefited from the report remaining out of public view.
“Four years is not a short period. Secrecy for too long creates only one thing: suspicion,” he said.
“A government that is serious about reform should not fear an investigative report. If it shows there was no political wrongdoing, explain that to the public.
“If there were management failures, take action. If there was political interference, expose it and fix the system,” he added.
Global Asia Consulting analyst Ahmad Zaharuddin Sani Ahmad Sabri said repeated failures involving large sums could no longer be dismissed as isolated investment mistakes.
“When failures keep recurring in an institution that is supposed to have proper governance, risk assessment and strict approval processes, we cannot stop at the word ‘loss’.
“We need to ask who made the decisions, on what basis they were made, and who had influence over those decisions,” he said.
Zaharuddin said “mismanagement” should not end the discussion if political interference, pressure or interests had influenced decision-making.
“If there was political interference behind that mismanagement, then we are dealing with something far more serious than managers making bad decisions. It could point to a wider institutional vulnerability or weakness,” he said.
However, he cautioned against accusing individuals without evidence, saying the royal commission of inquiry (RCI), audits and investigations must establish the facts.
Last Tuesday, Second Finance Minister Amir Hamzah Azizan told the Dewan Rakyat that seven of the 14 troubled investments identified by the RCI had ended in total losses, but investigations were continuing.
Among those drawing scrutiny was the Al-Rawda hotel arrangement, in which TH paid about RM1.5 billion upfront through an intermediary for long-term leases of four hotels in Saudi Arabia before appointing the same party to operate them.
Another involved the sale of an Indonesian plantation, in which TH advanced US$178.6 million to the buyer after it failed to meet its payment obligations, effectively financing the purchaser of TH’s own asset.
National journalism laureate A Kadir Jasin said the scandal was not simply allowed to be swept under the carpet — it was “deliberately swept under the carpet”.
“It was a conspiracy and a racket of the worst kind, using the savings of would-be pilgrims.
“They were so well protected that they openly ignored Bank Negara Malaysia’s advice,” he told FMT.
BNM had warned TH as early as 2014 over its reserves, liquidity and deposit management, and raised further concerns in 2015 that its assets were insufficient to meet its liabilities.
However, TH disputed BNM’s assessment, saying the central bank had not taken into account the fair value of its wider investment portfolio.
Thorough audit needed
Former ACCA Malaysia Advisory Committee president Khalid Ahmad said it was still premature to draw definitive conclusions about all 14 troubled investments identified by the RCI.
He said each investment should undergo a thorough examination to establish what went wrong, whether controls were breached and whether there was misconduct.
“This is people’s money. The amanah aspect of getting to the bottom of every investment is very important,” he said.
Khalid said the disclosure that seven of the 14 troubled investments had ended in total losses made it even more important to scrutinise all 14 deals thoroughly.
“If it is 100% lost, we need to know how that conclusion was reached and why. The remaining seven must also continue to be investigated,” he said.
Four-year delay questioned
The RCI completed its report in July 2022, but it was only declassified and released on July 29 this year. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the delay was to allow TH’s recovery and restructuring to proceed without undermining depositor confidence or triggering withdrawals.
Government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil later said TH chairman Abdul Rashid Hussain had also requested in 2023 that the report not be released immediately, to give the institution time to rebuild depositors’ confidence.
Kadir rejected the justification for withholding the RCI report for about four years after it was completed in 2022.
“The government should have acted the moment the report was handed over to the King. You cannot use the King’s name to start an inquiry and then hide the outcome from the public,” he said.
Zaharuddin similarly questioned the four-year delay, saying prolonged secrecy inevitably raised suspicions over who benefited from the report remaining out of public view.
“Four years is not a short period. Secrecy for too long creates only one thing: suspicion,” he said.
“A government that is serious about reform should not fear an investigative report. If it shows there was no political wrongdoing, explain that to the public.
“If there were management failures, take action. If there was political interference, expose it and fix the system,” he added.
***
WTF, just blame it on the DAP - after all, Pak Lebai said the corrupt are most likely to be 'nons'
No comments:
Post a Comment