KAJANG, Aug 21 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has rejected claims that the government’s scrutiny of Tabung Haji (TH) is driven by the institution’s Islamic identity, insisting that any action taken is a response to mismanagement and wrongdoing, not religious or racial targeting.
Speaking at a programme with Felda’s top management today, Anwar said the same principle applied across the board, citing Felda as another example of an institution closely associated with the Malay community that has faced government intervention over past failures, FMT reported.
“Some Islamic party leaders say action is mainly being taken against Malay-Muslim agencies. If issues are identified, we will take action. Don’t make this a racial or religious issue,” he said.
Although he did not name anyone directly, Anwar’s remarks come a day after PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang claimed that Muslims are less involved in corruption compared to non-Muslims, arguing that Islamic institutions such as Tabung Haji are singled out for scrutiny specifically because of their religious branding.
In his statement, Hadi had argued that faith served as a restraint on Muslims that made them less prone to graft, and alleged that enforcement in Malaysia has been selective, with senior figures and non-Muslim “cartels, black-market traders and smugglers” escaping consequences while others are unfairly targeted.
On TH specifically, Hadi had said he did not deny that wrongdoing occurred, but argued that similar or worse misconduct at government-linked companies goes unreported, contending that the fund’s Islamic branding makes it a target for headlines.
Anwar pushed back against this framing today, pointing to the government’s handling of Felda as proof that action against institutions linked to the Malay community is not about optics.
He noted that the government had tabled a white paper on Felda and set up a special task force and committee to prevent a repeat of the agency’s past problems, arguing this showed mismanagement would not be overlooked simply because an institution carries ethnic or religious significance.
The exchange adds to ongoing tension between the unity government and PAS over how corruption cases involving Malay-Muslim institutions are perceived and reported, with Hadi separately having taken aim at Pakatan Harapan’s broader anti-corruption record as ineffective.
