This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 17, 2026 - August 23, 2026

The findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into Lembaga Tabung Haji’s (TH) management and operations from 2014 to 2020 is damning, likely making it the country’s largest financial scandal after 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan told the Dewan Rakyat last week during the winding-up of a special parliamentary debate on the RCI report that “failures at multiple levels” led to seven of TH’s 14 troubled investments suffering total losses.

He said the losses — comprising RM10.2 billion absorbed by the government through the 2018 rescue and restructuring of the pilgrim fund’s assets via Urusharta Jamaah Sdn Bhd and RM2.6 billion in impairments recorded by TH on legacy investments — were caused not only by poor investments but also by weak decision-making and misconduct of former directors.

The RCI uncovered suspicious approval processes, including the hiding of information and manipulation of investment reports.

The misconduct included payments without proper security, transactions without guarantees, shares transferred before payment was received and the diversion of project funds.

“This is not merely an accounting issue. Financial statements only show the symptoms. The root cause was financial and investment misconduct,” Amir said in a frank assessment of the root of the problem.

The shenanigans at TH during the period reviewed that led to the loss of pilgrims’ hard-earned savings should not go unpunished.

As the proverb “harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi” goes, those entrusted to manage Malaysian Muslims’ savings so that they can perform the haj failed abjectly in fulfilling their responsibilities and obligations.

While the disclosure of the summary of the RCI report is already damning, the actual report — comprising eight volumes — should also be released to show that the Madani government values transparency.

It should not stop there; the culprits responsible for the financial misconduct at TH should be held accountable for the losses and face the full force of the law.

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