Reinvestigate me if necessary, says ex-TH chairman Azeez

Former Tabung Haji chairman Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim said he had been summoned by the police several times to assist in investigations, detained and subjected to a forensic audit.PETALING JAYA: Former Tabung Haji (TH) chairman Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim says he is ready to be reinvestigated, if necessary, over allegations of wrongdoing contained in the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) report on TH.“I will be the first person to cooperate. If I have stolen anything, I will take responsibility. But don't accuse me of embezzlement just to score political points,” Sinar Harian reported him as saying in Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan.Azeez questioned the timing of the RCI report's release just ahead of the Negeri Sembilan state election, as the report had been completed at the end of 2022 and had since been tabled at several Cabinet meetings.“I don't know why it was not released over the past three years and eight months.

The RCI report itself stated that it could be published.“I spoke to the police two weeks ago, and they said the case file had been completed and was only awaiting a ‘no further action’ directive,” he said.The RCI was established in 2021 to investigate TH's management, operations and asset-related issues between 2014 and 2020, following concerns over its governance and financial position.Its report, which was submitted to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Aug 30, 2022, was declassified yesterday.Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim previously said the delay in the report’s declassification was to allow TH's recovery and management overhaul to proceed smoothly.He said it was also to avoid affecting depositors' confidence at a time when TH was dealing with issues of power abuse and breaches of administrative regulations.Azeez said that in 2021, then Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Azam Baki issued an official letter stating that no abuse of power or misappropriation had been found.He said he was also probed during the tenure of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 2018.“If I had done anything wrong, Dr Mahathir would have sent me to jail,” he said, adding that he had been summoned by the police several times to assist in investigations, detained and subjected to a forensic audit.Azeez said he had appealed to Mahathir, former deputy prime minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and former religious affairs minister Mujahid Yuso…