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YOURSAY | Tabung Haji losses – the buck must stop somewhere
YOURSAY | “Surely it cannot always stop with the depositors?”
I was just trying to lower haj costs, Jamil Khir says after being charged
Jamil Khir pleads not guilty to RM860.3m Tabung Haji misappropriation charges
DrKam: Former religious affairs minister Jamil Khir Baharom says his intention was to reduce the cost of performing haj. Fine, but where was the ministerial oversight, due diligence, risk management and accountability?
RM1.5 billion of Tabung Haji depositors’ money was committed to the Al-Rawda hotel arrangement.
Al-Rawda later defaulted on its rental obligations, leaving Tabung Haji having to pursue recovery through the Saudi courts. If you are the minister responsible for Tabung Haji, surely the buck stops somewhere.
You cannot simply say, “I was trying to make haj cheaper,” while the people entrusted with pilgrims’ savings enter a RM1.5 billion transaction.
The irony is painful: the mission was supposedly to reduce the cost of haj for pilgrims. Instead, a massive amount of pilgrims’ money was put at risk.
The buck must stop somewhere. Surely it cannot always stop with the depositors?
BrownRabbit3061: Would it not have been better if Tabung Haji bought hotels or built its own hotels in Madinah and Mecca instead of relying on an intermediary who defaulted on payment to the leaser?
Then it would require Tabung Haji to sue the intermediary? The costs of buying or building hotels will be a long-term plan, and it will certainly help reduce costs for pilgrims.
Also, if some of the travel agencies for haj and umrah can sign agreements directly with hotels, why can’t Tabung Haji do the same instead of through an intermediary?
Lone_star: Of course, he was doing his best for the pilgrims and Tabung Haji. It is not easy to get hotel accommodation at the lowest cost during the haj season.
Of course, RM860m had to be shelled out first. What if the RM860m were kept in FDs, would that have reduced accommodation cost?
It is for the court to decide with the best decision for the nation and rakyat.
BrownGoose2785: Big names being charged are major scandals in the country. As we know, a royal commission of inquiry report is just a lead, not a judge's ruling. If MACC just blindly slap people with charges right after getting a report, you will call that zero independence.
MACC doing proper homework and passing solid proof to the Attorney-General's Chambers is literally standard procedure, especially when foreign investments are involved, which need extra time to track down. The Prime Minister or the MACC boss can't just call who gets charged, that’s 100 percent the AGC's power.
At the end of the day, early or late doesn't matter, what is most important is making sure the corruption is thwarted.
Koel: Must taxpayers contribute their money to bail out losses? But why are Malaysians being held responsible for these losses? Why is public money being used to recover losses incurred in dodgy deals?
Isn't it about time the state froze all assets of politicians facing corruption charges? Stop pension payments and ensure overseas accounts are also frozen. If found guilty, these assets and monies must be confiscated by the state. If they are cleared by all courts, then they get their assets back.
With such practices, the tendency to game the system and prolong court processes will be discouraged.
The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. In the past year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.
These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.
YOURSAY | “Surely it cannot always stop with the depositors?”
I was just trying to lower haj costs, Jamil Khir says after being charged
Jamil Khir pleads not guilty to RM860.3m Tabung Haji misappropriation charges
DrKam: Former religious affairs minister Jamil Khir Baharom says his intention was to reduce the cost of performing haj. Fine, but where was the ministerial oversight, due diligence, risk management and accountability?
RM1.5 billion of Tabung Haji depositors’ money was committed to the Al-Rawda hotel arrangement.
Al-Rawda later defaulted on its rental obligations, leaving Tabung Haji having to pursue recovery through the Saudi courts. If you are the minister responsible for Tabung Haji, surely the buck stops somewhere.
You cannot simply say, “I was trying to make haj cheaper,” while the people entrusted with pilgrims’ savings enter a RM1.5 billion transaction.
The irony is painful: the mission was supposedly to reduce the cost of haj for pilgrims. Instead, a massive amount of pilgrims’ money was put at risk.
The buck must stop somewhere. Surely it cannot always stop with the depositors?
BrownRabbit3061: Would it not have been better if Tabung Haji bought hotels or built its own hotels in Madinah and Mecca instead of relying on an intermediary who defaulted on payment to the lessor?
Then it would require Tabung Haji to sue the intermediary? The costs of buying or building hotels will be a long-term plan, and it will certainly help reduce costs for pilgrims.
Also, if some of the travel agencies for haj and umrah can sign agreements directly with hotels, why can’t Tabung Haji do the same instead of through an intermediary?
Lone_star: Of course, he was doing his best for the pilgrims and Tabung Haji. It is not easy to get hotel accommodation at the lowest cost during the haj season.
Of course, RM860 million had to be shelled out first. What if the RM860 million were kept in fixed deposits, would that have reduced accommodation costs?
It is for the court to decide the best decision for the nation and rakyat.
BrownGoose2785: Big names being charged are major scandals in the country. As we know, a royal commission of inquiry report is just a lead, not a judge's ruling. If MACC just blindly slap people with charges right after getting a report, you will call that zero independence.
MACC doing proper homework and passing solid proof to the Attorney-General's Chambers is literally standard procedure, especially when foreign investments are involved, which need extra time to track down. The prime minister or the MACC boss can't just decide who gets charged, that’s 100 percent the AGC's power.
At the end of the day, early or late doesn't matter, what is most important is making sure that corruption is thwarted.
Koel: Must taxpayers contribute their money to bail out losses? But why are Malaysians being held responsible for these losses? Why is public money being used to recover losses incurred in dodgy deals?
Isn't it about time the state froze all assets of politicians facing corruption charges? Stop pension payments and ensure overseas accounts are also frozen. If found guilty, these assets and monies must be confiscated by the state. If they are cleared by all courts, then they get their assets back.
With such practices, the tendency to game the system and prolong court processes will be discouraged.
The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. In the past year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.
These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.
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The buck stops when umno blames DAP for the TH debacle and the good malay people will get hoodwinked again by umno for believing their nonsensical claim
Actually a class against TH will be the appropriate thing to do. My question is, was my tax money used to plug the hole, if so why? I do not benefit from it.
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