Zahid wants PAC to probe TH, Takiyuddin backs new RCI

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi suggested that the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) should investigate the financial management of Tabung Haji (TH), rather than a new Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI). Zahid, who is also the Umno president, stated that the PAC could establish a special body under its purview to scrutinise TH's management from 2017 to the present. He believed the PAC had the "locus standi" to do so under its mandate and responsibilities.

The RCI's recent findings, made public, did not directly implicate any individual, according to Zahid. He emphasized that a PAC investigation was crucial to ensure that any allegations of mismanagement or misappropriation of funds were supported by facts and evidence.

Perikatan Nasional (PN) secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan, also present at the forum, expressed willingness to either establish a new RCI or refer the matter to the PAC. He agreed that further investigation was necessary to examine events after the period covered by the previous RCI and to clarify discrepancies in several findings related to TH's management. Takiyuddin, who is also PAS secretary-general, supported the idea of establishing a new RCI to investigate TH's position from 2019 or 2018 until now.