Kuala lumpur: Clearer legal provisions, including prescribed accounting standards and penalties for misreporting financial statements, are set to be included in proposed amendments to the Tabung Haji (TH) Act 1995. The changes aim to tighten financial reporting rules in line with recommendations by the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI), according to Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Dr. Zulkifli Hasan. These amendments are intended to prevent a recurrence of the issues highlighted by the RCI in its report on TH management and operations from 2014 to 2020.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, all relevant RCI recommendations have been reviewed for inclusion in the proposed amendments to the TH Act. This includes the suitability of a Securities Commission oversight and supervisory framework for TH's fund management and investments. Dr. Zulkifli stated this while presenting his ministerial briefing on the RCI report at the special Dewan Rakyat sitting today. He further mentioned that a task force chaired by the TH chairman and comprising the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor and Securities Commission (SC) chairman has been established to examine the matter.
Dr. Zulkifli informed that the task force has agreed to recommend that TH's fund management and investment activities be regulated by the Securities Commission, while haj management would remain under the supervision of the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department for Religious Affairs. TH would remain a single, intact entity. Speaking on excessive bonuses, forensic audits, and enforcement, Dr. Zulkifli noted the RCI had recommended ending the practice of awarding excessively high bonuses to staff.
He added that TH has adopted a more measured bonus policy based on its overall financial performance and the achievement of key performance indicators by the institution and its employees, with payments subject to approval by the religious affairs and finance ministers. Dr. Zulkifli also highlighted that TH has implemented a recommendation requiring profit distribution rates to be announced on the basis of audited annual financial statements since 2022. This measure aligns with the RCI's call for clearer provisions governing the calculation of TH's profit distributions, and its financial statements have fully complied with the relevant accounting standards since 2018.
The RCI also recommended a comprehensive overhaul of the TH Act 1995, including specific eligibility criteria and expertise-based selection procedures for board members, as well as a prohibition on active politicians serving as chairman or board members. Dr. Zulkifli emphasized that TH has implemented leadership appointments, including those of board members and management, based on integrity, capability, and experience under 'fit and proper' criteria aligned with BNM's framework. He expressed confidence in the institution's current leadership, stating that TH is now in a strong position in terms of haj management, investments, finances, and overall operations.
The special sitting was convened to allow Members of Parliament to scrutinize and debate the 211-page report released publicly on July 29 after the government decided its findings should be disclosed. Dr. Zulkifli and Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan are scheduled to wind up the debate later.