Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan said a report by accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopes (PwC) on TH’s financial practices tabled in Parliament earlier today had drawn “deep concerns” and “must be taken seriously” by all parties.
“I believe Malays and Muslims in the country want to know the truth behind this disclosure and then demand accountability from those involved,” Mohamad said in a statement that was posted on his personal Facebook page tonight.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mujahid Yusof Rawa, who is in charge of Islamic affairs, said earlier today in Parliament that TH recorded assets of RM70.3 billion up till Dec 2017, but liabilities of RM74.4 billion.
“This is the point I want to make: TH has been paying off dividends, or ‘hibah’ to its depositors despite bearing a much higher liability.”
After Pakatan Harapan took over the government and appointed a new management team, he said, PwC was hired to re-evaluate TH’s financial position for 2017.
Its auditors discovered TH had been paying dividends despite its high liabilities since 2014.
Mohamad said the issue at hand was not only about whether dividends were being paid to depositors in a way that did not tally with how TH operated, but about how it became a “crisis of corporate governance and mismanagement”.
He pointed out that Umno was “very serious” in preserving the integrity of institutions related to Islamic affairs, and said any effort to strengthen such institutions to eliminate leakages and mismanagement must be supported.
TH has a “great reputation” not only in Malaysia but globally, he said, and that TH’s mandate, function, and aspirations were “very pure” and “critical” for Muslims. Therefore, its legacy should be defended no matter what, he explained.
“The best way to defend the interests of the Malays and Islam is to ensure our institutions are managed best. Therefore, TH should never be used irresponsibly and in a wrongful manner by any party in any way.”
He called for an RCI to find out what went wrong as the Malays, Muslims and the general public have the right to know what happened with TH, which can only happen after a transparent, impartial and comprehensive inquiry.
The 2017 Auditor-General’s (A-G) Report last week revealed that TH failed to record an asset impairment of RM227.81 million in three subsidiary companies and three associate companies, especially its investment in associate company TH Heavy Engineering Bhd amounting to RM164.58 million.
The A-G added that TH’s policy on reporting the impairment of assets was inconsistent.
The policy was changed every year while, in the financial year ending Dec 31, 2017, it was even changed twice.
TH entered the limelight when the fund’s new management lodged police reports against seven former senior management officers over past financial transactions made by them.