KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 — The Dewan Rakyat is convening a special sitting today to deliberate on the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report into Lembaga Tabung Haji’s management and operations between 2014 and 2020.
Scheduled to begin at 10:00 am, the session provides Members of Parliament (MPs) the platform to scrutinise the 211-page report, which was released to the public on July 29 following a government decision to disclose its findings.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Dr Zulkifli Hasan is slated to open proceedings with a ministerial briefing on the report. His presentation will be followed by a Q&A and debate session among lawmakers, culminating in a joint winding-up session by Zulkifli and Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan.
Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil previously noted that at least 40 MPs had expressed interest in participating in the parliamentary debate.
The RCI uncovered severe operational and administrative weaknesses within Tabung Haji and outlined 25 key reforms to restore institutional integrity. As of July 30, the pilgrim fund management institution had already implemented 75 per cent of those recommendations.
Among its core findings, the RCI highlighted significant governance failures, political interference in executive management, and profit distributions that failed to properly account for investment impairments and declines in fair asset values.
In a major revelation, the report stated that Tabung Haji would have posted a net loss of RM1.4 billion in 2017—rather than the declared profit of RM3.4 billion—had Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards (MFRS) been fully applied.
The commission concluded that the institution’s financial health was in a critical state during the period under review, carrying an ongoing asset-liability deficit dating back to 2014 alongside multiple unresolved impairment issues.
According to the findings, the compounding financial strain was driven by excessively high hibah payouts, creative accounting practices, insufficient oversight by the Auditor-General, an expanded mandate to serve as a primary pillar of the Muslim economy, and escalating Haj Financial Assistance (HAFIS) costs.
The inquiry further uncovered suspicious financial transactions and deliberate concealment of information. Consequently, the RCI recommended conducting a comprehensive forensic audit while urging law enforcement authorities to take swift, firm action on outstanding police reports and formal complaints regarding Tabung Haji’s past management.
The full live broadcast of the parliamentary sitting is accessible via BERNAMA TV on Astro Channel 502, Unifi TV Channel 631, and MyTV Channel 121, as well as BERNAMA TV’s official Facebook Live and YouTube channels.
–NMT
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