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FOUR police reports and six matters referred to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over alleged misconduct involving Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) did not result in any court charges, according to the declassified Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report.
The cases involved allegations of misrepresentation, concealment of information, corruption, abuse of power, forgery and manipulation of investment reports.
While no criminal proceedings followed, internal investigations into several matters resulted in disciplinary action against five former senior management personnel, including over issues linked to the sale of PT TH Indo Plantations (THIP).
The RCI noted that some initial decisions to dismiss those involved were later reduced to demotions following appeals.
All five individuals remained with TH at the time of the inquiry, with four holding senior positions in TH Hotel & Residence Sdn Bhd, TH Plantations Bhd and TH Properties Sdn Bhd.
The inquiry also raised concerns over the duration of disciplinary proceedings, which took between 10 and 19 months to complete.
It recommended that the process be streamlined and expedited to ensure disciplinary action was carried out in a manner that was “effective, efficient, fair and transparent”.
One of the cases involved a police report lodged in 2019 alleging that TH management had misrepresented information presented to the board in February 2018, which contributed to the declaration of a higher hibah payout for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2017.
The RCI found that TH had relied on realisable asset value (RAV), which was higher than the asset value reflected in its audited accounts, when determining its financial position before declaring the distribution.
Under the Tabung Haji Act 1995, TH’s assets must not be lower than its total liabilities before profits can be distributed.
According to the report, TH management had argued that the law did not provide a clear definition of “assets” and that it had the discretion to determine how asset values were calculated.
Another police report was lodged in November 2018 over TH’s sale of its 95% stake in TH Indo Plantations to PT Borneo Pacific, involving allegations of 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 which was supposed to be settled by PT Borneo Pacific.
The value of the transaction was later revised from US$910 million to US$810 million.
Four individuals initially faced dismissal over the THIP transaction but were later demoted following appeals.
They were former group chief financial officer Datuk Rozaida Omar, former senior general manager Rifina Md Ariff, former chief human resources officer Mohd Hisham Harun and former legal adviser Hazlina Mohd Khalid.
Rozaida had also initially faced dismissal over the 2017 hibah payout issue but was similarly demoted after an appeal.
The RCI also highlighted disciplinary action linked to Yayasan Tabung Haji’s RM22.12 million contribution, which was made without the required approval.
Rozaida and then-chief operating officer Datuk Adi Azuan Abdul Ghani received “severe warnings”, while Mohd Hisham was issued a warning and had his salary increment deferred. - July 30, 2026
