Wednesday 30 Sep 2026

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KUALA LUMPUR (July 29): According to the declassified Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH), four police reports were lodged and six matters referred to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over allegations including misrepresentation, concealment of information, corruption, abuse of power, forgery and manipulation of investment reports.

However, the reports failed to yield court charges from the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

Further, internal investigations into some of the matters, including the sale of PT TH Indo Plantations (THIP), subsequently led to five former senior management members facing disciplinary action.

An initial decision to dismiss some of the individuals was also reduced to demotion, following appeals. All five remained with the pilgrim fund as at the RCI, with four holding senior positions in TH Hotel & Residence Sdn Bhd, TH Plantations Bhd and TH Properties Sdn Bhd.

The disciplinary action also included “severe warnings” over Yayasan Tabung Haji’s RM22.12 million contribution, which was made without the necessary approval.

Disciplinary action processes took between 10 to 19 months, said the RCI, which it said must be “streamlined and expedited so that the process is seen and regarded as effective, efficient, fair and transparent”.

Among the cases was a police report lodged in 2019 alleging that TH’s management made misrepresentations in papers presented to the board in February 2018 to enable the pilgrim fund to declare a high hibah payout for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2017 (FY2017).

According to the RCI, the management used realisable asset value (RAV) — which was higher than the audited asset value — in calculating the distribution. The Tabung Haji Act requires the fund’s assets to be no less than its aggregate liabilities before profits can be distributed.

Management argued that the act “does not have a clear definition of assets” and therefore “the management has the right to determine how the asset value is calculated”, the report said.

Another police report was lodged in November 2018 over TH’s sale of its 95% stake in THIP to PT Borneo Pacific, involving alleged misrepresentation and concealment of information.

The RCI found that TH had transferred the shares before receiving full payment and had also advanced US$178.6 million that was supposed to be settled by PT Borneo Pacific. The deal value was subsequently reduced from US$910 million to US$810 million.

Four individuals initially faced dismissal over the THIP sale, but were subsequently demoted instead. The quartet are former group chief financial officer Datuk Rozaida Omar, former senior general manager Rifina Md Ariff, then chief human resources officer Mohd Hisham Harun and former legal adviser Hazlina Mohd Khalid.

Rozaida had also faced dismissal over the 2017 hibah payout, but was similarly demoted instead.

Separately, disciplinary action over Yayasan Tabung Haji’s RM22.12 million contribution, which was made without the required approval, resulted in “severe warnings” for Rozaida and then-chief operating officer Datuk Adi Azuan Abdul Ghani, while Mohd Hisham received a warning and had his salary increment deferred.

Manipulation, corruption allegations

A third police report concerned several individuals accused of manipulating a land-suitability study involving oil palm estates in Kalimantan.

The alleged manipulation led Trurich Resources Sdn Bhd, TH’s joint venture with Felda Global Ventures Kalimantan Sdn Bhd, to acquire the estates for about US$58 million between 2008 and 2009, according to the report.

The RCI also highlighted several reports lodged with MACC involving alleged wrongdoing at TH Plantations Bhd and TH Properties Sdn Bhd.

These included alleged corruption in TH Plantations’ acquisition of Ladang Weida Bhd and alleged document forgery involving the supply of rubber seedlings to a TH Plantations estate.

Officials at two TH Properties subsidiaries were also accused of misconduct and misappropriation, while another MACC report involved alleged misappropriation and corruption over renovation works involving an unnamed former TH chief operating officer.

“The royal commission is of the view that the authorities must take firm and immediate action on every police report or complaint,” the RCI said.

It added that MACC “should be given sufficient room to pursue any action available under existing laws in order to complete its investigations”.

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