Certain individuals appear to have made it their goal to commit financial wrongdoing at a vital institution for Muslims – the Hajj pilgrims’ fund board, Tabung Haji.
For Muslims, a sacred line has been crossed. Those entrusted to run the Islamic statutory body – presumably Malay Muslims – were also meant to protect the interests of its Muslim depositors, who now number almost 10 million.
The ordinary people of Malaysia, particularly Muslim depositors, have every reason to be outraged by such a dastardly stunt.
A sacred trust broken
The recently published report by the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Tabung Haji points to widespread governance failures, questionable accounting practices, political interference and improper transactions.
Tabung Haji even paid excessive bonuses to senior staff at a time when the institution was bleeding money. This can hardly be called due diligence.
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Things got worse still. The royal commission found that Tabung Haji had hidden its true financial state for years. In 2017, it reported a profit of RM3.4bn when it had actually made a net loss of RM1.4bn.
Put simply, this was an attempt to pull wool over the eyes of unsuspecting ethnic Malay-Muslims. Such ‘creative accounting’ amounts to a betrayal of their trust.
Tabung Haji was the brainchild of the late Royal Professor Ungku Abdul Aziz. It was set up in 1963 to help Muslims save money for their Hajj pilgrimage.
It was founded, above all, on the trust of its depositors, starting with RM46,610 in deposits from 1,281 Muslim depositors.
From these humble origins, this Islamic financial institution gained recognition across the Muslim world.
Many of its depositors are ordinary people – farmers, taxi drivers, labourers, teachers, delivery riders and petty traders. To them, Tabung Haji had earned a reputation as a professional Islamic body. They believed it would help make their dream of performing the Hajj come true.
The Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam. That is how important Tabung Haji is to most Muslims in Malaysia.
One would have thought Tabung Haji would be the last institution on earth the culprits would target. But evil thoughts got the better of them, making the line between halal and haram negotiable.
Trust betrayed before
The Tabung Haji scandal has caused dismay not only among many Malay-Muslims. Some among the ethnic minorities are also deeply concerned, as key principles of transparency and accountability in corporate governance have been badly compromised.
Their concern is also because the scandal involves public funds used to bail Tabung Haji out of its billions of ringgit in losses.
Some have argued that qualified individuals with proven integrity, including those from ethnic minority backgrounds, could have been recruited to manage this statutory body more professionally and with greater transparency.
Amanah, or trust, carries a heavy meaning: trustworthiness, honesty and moral responsibility. This should have been basic knowledge for those involved.
Trust had been compromised previously by self-serving political leaders who diverted public funds into their own pockets.
Those funds were meant to lift the living standards of ordinary people – not to enrich politicians who claim to work for the public’s welfare. 1MDB and Felda come to mind.
The scandal at Tabung Haji should not escape the attention of ordinary people, particularly the Malay community, who have long been warned by certain fearmongers that their future, privileges and rights are threatened by ‘others’.
Yet, the Tabung Haji case shows that people from ‘your own community’ can be just as untrustworthy and treacherous towards its collective interests. You do not need ‘others’ or ‘outsiders’ for that.
The harm done means the culprits – whatever their standing or political affiliation – must be held accountable.
Beyond institutional reform at Tabung Haji, the authorities must also apply the relevant laws without fear or favour against those responsible.
Such scandalous conduct must not be allowed to cheapen the meaning of trust, accountability, halal and haram.
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
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