Asyraf denies role in Tabung Haji's Al-Rawda loss-making investment

Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, the Deputy Chief of Umno, has vehemently denied any association with the controversial investment in Al-Rawda, a real estate development and project management company based in Saudi Arabia. Despite being present during a signing ceremony in 2017, Asyraf firmly stated that he held no voting power in the Tabung Haji (TH) decisions. Photographs from 2017, featuring Asyraf alongside TH chairman Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim and other officials, have since been circulating on social media.

In an interview, Finance Minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan revealed that the National Economic Council investigating TH's financial management from 2014 to 2020 found that seven out of 14 TH investments resulted in overall losses during that period. The largest loss was attributed to TH's investment in Al-Rawda, a Saudi-based real estate company. Amir elaborated on the extensive losses, which amounted to RM1 billion by 2024, primarily due to Al-Rawda's failure to pay rental fees for the four hotels in Makkah and Madinah.

Amir emphasized that the investment in Al-Rawda involved a bond agreement from 2015 to 2017, with TH paying 1.4 billion Saudi Riyals (approximately RM1.5 billion) to settle the four hotel leases. However, Al-Rawda failed to make the initial rental payments from the beginning of 2019, forcing TH to acknowledge a significant loss.

Asyraf dismissed accusations of being linked to TH's financial woes, stating that he was only a temporary replacement for the Minister of Religious Affairs during a special session to discuss the RCI report on TH's financial management.