KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 — Pagoh MP Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has urged the government to immediately conduct a comprehensive and transparent forensic audit of the management of Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) funds and complete it within a year.

The former prime minister said the move was important following weaknesses in governance and transparency in the management of TH funds, as revealed in the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on the institution.

“An independent forensic audit is crucial to trace the flow of funds, identify elements of fraud, abuse of power and possible negligence.

“Anyone responsible for causing losses to TH funds, whether through fraud, abuse of power or negligence, must be brought to justice,” he said during the debate on the TH RCI report at the Special Dewan Rakyat Sitting today.

Muhyiddin, who is also Bersatu president, said the findings in the report, which among others revealed that TH recorded estimated cumulative losses of between RM10 billion and RM12.6 billion from 2014 to 2020, must be taken seriously and followed by firm action without compromise.

Meanwhile, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (MUDA-Muar) urged the government to establish a Multi-Agency Task Force to investigate 14 problematic TH investments identified in the RCI report.

He said the task force should involve several enforcement agencies, including the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), police and the Inland Revenue Board, to ensure investigations were conducted comprehensively rather than in silos.

“The government needs to announce the establishment of a Multi-Agency Task Force to investigate each of the 14 investments that have been proven problematic, and extend the scope to Felda, FGV and Eagle High.

“So that ultimately we can find out who caused these problems and establish the losses that resulted,” he said, adding that he also proposed forensic audits of the problematic investments.

Echoing him, Datuk Seri Hasni Mohammad (BN-Simpang Renggam) proposed that MACC, police and relevant enforcement agencies provide regular updates, within a clearly defined timeframe, on all investigations arising from the RCI findings.

Hasni also proposed that today’s special sitting mark the beginning of continuous, bipartisan and institution-based parliamentary oversight to ensure the implementation of all RCI recommendations is regularly monitored and reported to the Dewan Rakyat.

The special sitting provides MPs with an opportunity to examine the TH RCI report, which was made public on July 29 after the government decided that its findings should be made known to the people.

The report contains various findings concerning weaknesses in TH’s management and operations between 2014 and 2020, as well as 25 recommendations for improvement, of which 75 per cent had been implemented by TH as of July 30. — Bernama