Akmal Urged Not to ‘Move the Goalposts’ Over Tabung Haji RCI Findings

KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) communications chief Danish Hairudin has hit back at Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh, accusing him of “moving the goalposts” after the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on Lembaga Tabung Haji was made public.

Danish said Akmal had previously been among those most vocal in demanding that the RCI report be disclosed, but appeared dissatisfied after its findings and subsequent enforcement action did not fit the political narrative he wanted to advance.

“The question is simple. Must everyone follow Akmal and Umno’s lead until we get the answer that Umno wants?” he said in a statement.

Danish stressed that the RCI was not established during the tenure of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and therefore its findings should not be used to shift blame onto the current administration.

He said Umno, which has Members of Parliament and is also part of the Federal Government, should use Parliament as the proper avenue if it believes the RCI report is incomplete.

“If there are matters in the RCI report that are deemed incomplete, bring them to Parliament. Debate them. Ask questions. Demand answers,” he said.

Danish also urged anyone with new evidence to hand it over to the relevant authorities for investigation, regardless of who might be implicated.

“We do not need to protect anyone. But neither should major issues already staring us in the face be deliberately ignored,” he said.

Among the issues he said deserved greater attention were allegations of “creative accounting”, weaknesses in governance and investments that suffered losses of up to 100%.

“These are major questions that Akmal and Umno should be answering and pursuing. Strangely, there is silence on these matters,” he said.

Responding to Akmal’s call for the full disclosure of the RCI findings, Danish said he agreed that everything should be made public and debated.

“Disclose everything. Debate everything — including matters that may be uncomfortable for Umno itself. Do not selectively highlight certain portions simply to reinforce a political narrative,” he said.

Danish also cautioned against repeating what he described as the approach taken during controversies surrounding 1MDB, where attention could be diverted to other issues when the central questions had already emerged.

“Do not repeat the old pattern in the 1MDB issue — when the main issue is already in front of us, the goalposts are moved, other issues are magnified and eventually the real issue is obscured and sanitised,” he said.

He stressed that Tabung Haji belonged neither to Umno nor PKR, but to millions of depositors whose savings represented a public trust.

“Tabung Haji does not belong to Umno. It does not belong to Keadilan. It does not belong to any political party.

“It is the money and trust of millions of depositors. Therefore, do not politicise the RCI simply because its findings do not fit your own script,” he said.

“If the truth is genuinely what you want, then accept the truth in its entirety. Do not keep searching for an RCI until you find the answer you like,” he added.