RCI Tabung Haji: Syed Saddiq Urges Formation of Special Task Force to Investigate 14 Problematic Investments

KUALA LUMPUR: The government is urged to establish a multi-agency task force to investigate the 14 problematic investments listed in the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) Report regarding Tabung Haji (TH).

Muar Member of Parliament, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said, the investigation should not rely on a single enforcement agency alone.

Instead, he proposed that the task force involve several agencies including the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) and the Inland Revenue Board (IRB).

“The government needs to announce the establishment of a multi-agency task force to investigate each and every one of the 14 investments that have been proven to be problematic,” he said when debating at the Dewan Rakyat Special Sitting today.

Syed Saddiq said the RCI report also recommended a forensic audit process on the problematic investments to identify the causes and the possibility of misappropriation.

He also raised the systemic risk when governance issues or investment failures in a company or government-linked institution could affect other entities.

According to him, this situation ultimately risks causing losses that would have to be borne by taxpayers if not addressed properly.

At the same time, Syed Saddiq also urged the government to ensure that the financial commitments related to the TH recovery plan are fulfilled and not merely to show that the institution has been saved on paper.

“If you (the government) do not fulfil that responsibility, you are merely transferring the problem from one generation to the next, from one government to another,” he said.

Syed Saddiq, at the end of his debate, stressed that action against any misconduct must be taken consistently without regard to whether the individuals involved are allies or political opponents.

“Do not take action only because they are our friends, tomorrow they become opponents, we take action. When they are friends, no action is taken.

“It doesn’t matter whether they are friends or foes. Because the reality is, this is not about me or you, not about friends or foes. This is about the rights of more than 10 million depositors and the rights of Muslims in Malaysia,” he said again.

Astro Awani