National journalism laureate A Kadir Jasin believes the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) are unlikely to generate the same level of sustained public outrage as the 1MDB scandal because the issue is widely perceived as one affecting the Malay-Muslim community.
He said non-Malays would be less inclined to become involved in the issue, while Malays generally do not sustain public anger for long.
“The Malays are not very good at sustained outrage. They’re easily pacified,” Kadir said.
“There should be, but there might not be.”
He also noted that even in the 1MDB case, some people had called for former prime minister Najib Razak, who is serving a prison sentence for corruption, to be pardoned despite his central role in the scandal.
Problems were already uncovered after 2018
Kadir said he was not surprised by the RCI’s findings, as many of the issues had already been exposed and addressed after Barisan Nasional lost power in the 2018 general election.
He said the Pakatan Harapan administration led by Mahathir Mohamad, through then finance minister Lim Guan Eng and then religious affairs minister Mujahid Yusof Rawa, introduced several measures to stabilise TH.
Among them was the transfer of the fund’s non-performing assets and liabilities to a special purpose vehicle, allowing TH to continue paying hibah to its depositors.
He added that TH’s new management had also lodged multiple police reports against former board members and senior management.
However, Kadir said many of those initiatives lost momentum after the Pakatan Harapan government collapsed following the Sheraton Move in 2020.
According to him, most of the policies and actions introduced at the time were either discontinued or placed on the back burner.
Calls for legal action
Kadir expressed regret that former board members and senior management received only limited disciplinary action, with no major criminal trials or formal charges brought by the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
He said some senior staff faced internal disciplinary measures and demotions rather than dismissal.
“The RCI findings on TH and its recommendations will yet be another ruse if no legal action is taken against the culprits,” he said.
Kadir stressed that those who failed in their fiduciary duties and responsibilities should be held accountable.
Warning against repeating history
He cautioned that the TH RCI could face the same fate as the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysia Police if its recommendations are not implemented.
Kadir pointed out that the 2005 royal commission proposed the establishment of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission, but the body was never fully set up.
