Tabung Haji has implemented 76pc of RCI recommendations, Parliament told

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 — The Tabung Haji has implemented up to 76% of the recommendations made by the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into its finances, the Dewan Rakyat was informed. Datuk Zulkifli Hasan, a minister in the Prime Minister's Department focusing on Religious Affairs, stated that 13 of the total RCI recommendations, pertaining to significant operational and management concerns, have been addressed within the institution's control.

These improvements include better governance, financial reporting, investment, risk management, and decision-making procedures. The minister highlighted specific actions carried out in response to the RCI's findings, such as fully accepting financial accounting standards in line with the commission's directives, and ensuring the announcement of profit distribution rates is dependent on audited financial statements since 2022.

Regarding concerns about excessive bonuses, excessive audits, and enforcement, the minister pointed to the RCI's explicit advice to end the habit of paying excessively high staff bonuses, which prompted the fund to alter its compensation structure. The Royal Commission was established by the first Pakatan Harapan administration following years of demands to examine the pilgrimage fund's finances, after reports of mismanagement surfaced due to many of the fund's investments experiencing losses.

The report was only recently declassified, and several top executives have since been charged. The minister noted that the amendment to the Tabung Haji Act 1995 will incorporate all the changes suggested by the RCI, including defining the board's criteria and expertise, restricting politicians from active participation, and modifying appointment procedures.

The proposed modifications will also involve refining Section 24 of the Tabung Haji Act 1995, taking into account feedback from stakeholders and addressing the previously uncovered loopholes and weaknesses identified in the RCI report.