Give Updates on RCI Recommendations for Tabung Haji, Govt Told
Ideas says the government should identify outstanding recommendations and set a timetable for completing them.
The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) has urged the government to provide updates on the implementation of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) recommendations concerning Tabung Haji (TH), including identifying those still outstanding and giving a timetable for their completion.
"Transparency should extend not only to the publication of inquiry reports but also to the implementation of their recommendations," Ideas said in a statement.
The think tank was responding to religious affairs minister Zulkifli Hasan's statement on July 30 that the government had already implemented about 75% of the RCI's 25 recommendations.
Zulkifli also said the government would expedite implementation of the remaining 25% of the recommendations, including limiting the religious affairs minister's jurisdiction over haj management.
The 252-page RCI report on the investigations into TH's management and operations from 2014 to 2020 was declassified and released on Wednesday, after the commission completed it in July 2022.
The RCI found, among others, that TH had concealed the true state of its finances for years. It reported a RM3.4 billion profit for 2017 when it should have recorded a RM1.4 billion net loss under proper accounting standards – a shortfall of almost RM4.8 billion.
Ideas said the release of the report should be followed by continuous reporting on implementation progress so that the public can judge for themselves how far reforms have gone.
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