Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 3): Former Lembaga Tabung Haji chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim has described police reports lodged against him by the pilgrims' fund as "malicious" and meant to "humiliate" him. 

Speaking to reporters outside the Dewan Rakyat today, Azeez said Tabung Haji could have conducted an internal inquiry before lodging the report, which alleged RM22 million under Tabung Haji’s purview had been misused, including for political purposes.  

“I don’t understand the reason why Tabung Haji did not use existing standards of procedure. I am surprised… it would have been more correct for Tabung Haji to call me up for my statement. An inquiry can be conducted,” Azeez said.

Azeez is implicated in one of two police reports lodged by Lembaga Tabung Haji on Friday, alongside former CEOs Tan Sri Ismee Ismail and Datuk Seri Johan Abdullah.

Also implicated in the reports were Tabung Haji’s chief operating officer Datuk Adi Azuan, chief financial officer Datuk Rozaida Omar, legal adviser Hazlina Mohd Khalid and senior general manager, for corporate services and real estate Rifina Md Ariff.

The police report alleged RM22 million from Yayasan Tabung Haji (YTH) — a foundation for the underprivileged formed in 2016 — meant for programmes in 2017, were disbursed for activities with political inclinations.

Azeez, alongside Ismee, Johan, Adi and Rozaida, were then trustees for YTH. 

Tabung Haji said it had contributed RM7 million to the programme — to which Azeez concurred, and explained as being sourced from profit gain of Tabung Haji’s business investments. 

“[But] the rest came from various sources,” Azeez said. “None of it came from [Tabung Haji’s] depositors… We cannot withdraw the money from them.

“[The rest] includes monies from UMNO, corporate companies that did not have business with Tabung Haji, as well as monies from the federal government at that time," he said, adding the then federal government had given RM4 million. 

The second report was against Ismee, Hazlinda and Rifina, and relates to misrepresentations and the withholding of material information involving Tabung Haji’s 2012 sale of a 95% stake in PT TH Indo Plantations held by its subsidiaries TH Indopalms Sdn Bhd and TH Indo Industries Sdn Bhd.

The 95% stake was sold to PT Borneo Pacific for US$910 million. TH Indo Plantations owns a total of 83,000 hectares of palm oil estates in Indonesia.

Azeez is among Umno leaders who have been probed and arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on allegations of graft. He was last summoned by the MACC on Nov 27, to assist an investigation involving a contractor’s company. 

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