The Malaysian Cabinet will decide on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, whether to release the final report from the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into Lembaga Tabung Haji’s (TH) financial mismanagement and crisis in 2018 [1, 2, 3, 4]. The RCI report was completed in late 2023 but withheld to avoid panicking depositors while the bailout and reform process was ongoing [5, 6, 7].
Tabung Haji faced a crisis of confidence in 2018 when an asset-liability deficit of RM10.9 billion was revealed by the Auditor-General and Bank Negara Malaysia, triggering about RM6 billion in depositor withdrawals over a short period [8, 9, 7]. The government risked taking on liabilities of roughly RM74.5 billion because it fully guarantees Tabung Haji deposits [8, 9, 7].
To address the crisis, the Cabinet agreed in 2018 to transfer underperforming and problematic assets to government vehicle Urusharta Jamaah Sdn Bhd as a bailout measure [8, 9]. Attempts to get a standby loan failed [8, 9]. Despite these challenges, Tabung Haji’s deposits have since grown from RM69.4 billion in 2019 to over RM95.1 billion by mid-2026, with the profit distribution rate rising from 1.25% in 2018 to 3.5% for 2025 [8, 9]. The cost of performing the haj pilgrimage has remained stable from 2024 to 2026 despite inflation [8, 9].
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the report documents serious breaches and "major abuses" but stopped short of labelling them as corruption. He stated, "If it is not necessary [for a Cabinet meeting], I will release it today. If Cabinet approval is required, I will wait until Wednesday's meeting because the people deserve to know" [10]. Anwar also noted the delay in publishing was to prevent loss of public confidence: "Three years ago, we were not in a position to publish the report. Had we done so, the public could have lost confidence in Tabung Haji and withdrawn their savings" [5].
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dr Zulkifli Hasan rejected allegations that a former Treasury secretary-general sold Tabung Haji’s strategic assets, emphasizing the transfer of assets was part of a collective Cabinet bailout decision. He said, "I want to stress that the allegation that the former Treasury secretary general sold Tabung Haji’s strategic assets is untrue and false. What actually happened was a bailout operation to save a financial institution serving Muslims" [8].
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi called for transparency in releasing the RCI findings and insisted any parties implicated must face due legal process, stating, "The findings from the RCI investigation and study must be made known transparently. If there is any abuse of power, irregularity, criminal breach of trust or other malpractices, there are processes... which can be carried out subsequently" [11]. Meanwhile, opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan has urged full disclosure to address the public’s concerns over Tabung Haji’s management [5].
Government officials discussed the report’s release publicly between July 22 and 27, stressing the importance of Cabinet approval and timing to avoid panic among depositors [8, 10, 5, 1, 2, 9, 3, 4, 12, 7]. The Cabinet meeting on July 29 will likely be the final step in deciding the report’s public release [1, 2, 3, 4].
