RAHSIA SUDAH DIBUKA, TETAPI ADAKAH KEADILAN AKAN DITEGAKKAN?

RAHSIA SUDAH DIBUKA, TETAPI ADAKAH KEADILAN AKAN DITEGAKKAN?

Oleh: Dr Armin Baniaz Pahamin

(English version at the bottom)

1. Kabinet akhirnya bersetuju mendedahkan Laporan RCI Tabung Haji. Hampir empat tahun selepas laporan itu disiapkan pada Julai 2022, rakyat kini boleh membaca dan menilainya. Ini satu perkembangan yang wajar disambut baik. Namun ia tidak sepatutnya menamatkan persoalan, sebaliknya ia baru sahaja membukanya.

2. Persoalan asal, mengapa laporan itu dirahsiakan sekian lama, kini telah dijawab oleh kerajaan sendiri: bagi mengelakkan kegusaran pendeposit dan melindungi kestabilan institusi. Alasan itu munasabah dan boleh diterima. Tetapi persoalan yang lebih penting kini muncul: adakah pendedahan ini bermakna keadilan sebenar akan menyusul, atau sekadar satu laporan yang kini boleh dibaca umum tanpa sebarang tindakan lanjut?

3. Persoalan hari ini bukan lagi mengapa laporan itu dirahsiakan. 

4. Persoalannya ialah apa yang dilakukan sepanjang tempoh kerahsiaan itu. Jika benar terdapat unsur salah laku, adakah siasatan telah berjalan? Adakah mana-mana individu telah dipanggil, dirujuk kepada SPRM atau Jabatan Peguam Negara? Atau adakah semuanya hanya bermula selepas laporan ini didedahkan kepada umum?

5.Masa pendedahan turut mengundang persoalan. Laporan yang siap sejak 2022 hanya didedahkan beberapa hari sebelum hari pengundian PRN Negeri Sembilan pada 1 Ogos. Sama ada kebetulan atau tidak, pemilihan masa seperti ini sudah tentu mengundang persoalan awam yang wajar dijelaskan. 

6. Tanpa mengira siapa yang mendapat kelebihan politik daripada keputusan ini, pemilihan masa sebegini sememangnya wajar dijelaskan kepada rakyat.

7. Menariknya, sepanjang tempoh laporan itu masih dirahsiakan, Tabung Haji sendiri mendedahkan bahawa 75 peratus daripada cadangan RCI telahpun dilaksanakan, dan kadar pengagihan keuntungan 2025 mencecah 3.5 peratus, iaitu kadar tertinggi dalam tempoh lapan tahun. Ini menunjukkan satu hakikat yang menarik. Pembaikan tadbir urus tidak memerlukan pendedahan awam untuk berlaku. 

8. Sekiranya pemulihan institusi boleh berjalan dengan baik sepanjang tempoh itu, timbul persoalan sama ada kerahsiaan selama ini benar-benar diperlukan, atau sekadar dianggap pilihan yang lebih mudah.

9. Timbalan Perdana Menteri turut menyeru supaya laporan ini tidak dipolitikkan, terutamanya menjelang PRN Negeri Sembilan. Seruan itu ada asasnya. Tetapi seruan sebegitu, yang dibuat oleh seorang ahli politik kanan sehari sebelum pilihan raya, dengan sendirinya turut membawa implikasi politik yang tidak boleh diabaikan.

10. Kerajaan turut mengumumkan bahawa agensi penguatkuasaan akan menjalankan siasatan penuh terhadap sebarang pelanggaran undang-undang yang dikenal pasti dalam laporan. Ini adalah ujian sebenar. Pengumuman siasatan mudah dibuat; yang lebih sukar ialah memastikan ia benar-benar membawa kepada rujukan, pendakwaan atau tindakan tatatertib yang telus bukan sekadar memenuhi kitaran berita sebelum akhirnya dilupakan.

11. Rakyat tidak menuntut semua orang didakwa. Rakyat hanya mahu setiap penemuan disiasat sehingga ada keputusan yang boleh dipertanggungjawabkan.

12. Sekiranya laporan itu siap pada 2022, apakah tindakan yang telah diambil sepanjang hampir empat tahun lalu? Berapa banyak siasatan dibuka, berapa banyak individu dipanggil memberi keterangan, dan berapa banyak kertas siasatan dirujuk kepada pihak pendakwaan?

13. Kenyataan Tabung Haji bahawa institusi itu "telah melangkah ke hadapan" turut perlu ditangani dengan berhati-hati. Pemulihan institusi adalah satu perkara; akauntabiliti individu yang membuat keputusan silap atau menyalahgunakan kuasa adalah perkara lain. Institusi boleh pulih tanpa sesiapa dipertanggungjawabkan, dan itulah senario yang perlu dielakkan.

14. Perkara yang perlu diperhatikan dalam bulan-bulan akan datang ialah sama ada siasatan penguatkuasaan ini bebas daripada kalendar politik, mempunyai tempoh masa yang jelas, dan menghasilkan keputusan konkrit sama ada pendakwaan, tindakan tatatertib, atau penjelasan rasmi mengapa tiada tindakan diambil terhadap penemuan tertentu.

15. Pendedahan laporan RCI adalah permulaan, bukan penamat. Ujian sebenar bukan pada hari laporan itu didedahkan, tetapi pada apa yang berlaku selepas itu sama ada ia membawa kepada keadilan yang tuntas, atau sekadar menjadi bahan bacaan awam yang kekal tanpa kesudahan.

16. Rakyat tidak sekadar mahu mengetahui apa yang berlaku. Rakyat mahu mengetahui siapa yang bertanggungjawab, apakah tindakan yang telah diambil, dan sama ada undang-undang benar-benar terpakai kepada semua tanpa mengira kedudukan. 

17. Selagi persoalan itu belum dijawab, laporan RCI ini belum benar-benar mencapai tujuannya. Itulah ukuran sebenar keadilan.

~Dr Armin Baniaz Pahamin

31.07.2026

ENGLISH

THE SECRETS HAVE BEEN REVEALED, BUT WILL JUSTICE FOLLOW?

By Dr Armin Baniaz Pahamin

1. The Cabinet has finally agreed to make public the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) Report on Tabung Haji. Nearly four years after the report was completed in July 2022, Malaysians can finally read and assess its findings. This is a welcome development. However, it should not mark the end of the conversation. If anything, it marks the beginning.

2. The original question, why the report was kept confidential for so long, has now been answered by the government itself: to prevent panic among depositors and safeguard the stability of the institution. That explanation is reasonable and deserves consideration. Yet a far more important question now arises: does the publication of the report mean that justice will finally be served, or has it simply become another public document without meaningful follow-up?

3. Today, the real question is no longer why the report was kept secret.

4. The real question is what happened during those four years of secrecy. If there were credible indications of wrongdoing, were investigations already underway? Were any individuals questioned or referred to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) or the Attorney General's Chambers? Or did the investigative process only begin after the report was finally made public?

5. The timing of the report's release also raises legitimate questions. Although the report was completed in 2022, it was only made public just days before polling day for the Negeri Sembilan state election on 1 August. Whether this was coincidental or deliberate, such timing inevitably invites public scrutiny and deserves a clear explanation.

6. Regardless of who stands to gain politically from this decision, the choice of timing should be transparently explained to the public.

7. Interestingly, while the report remained under wraps, Tabung Haji itself announced that 75 per cent of the RCI's recommendations had already been implemented. It also reported a 3.5 per cent dividend for 2025, its highest distribution in eight years. This highlights an important reality: meaningful governance reforms can take place even without the public release of an inquiry report.

8. If the institution was able to recover successfully throughout that period, it is reasonable to ask whether prolonged secrecy was truly necessary, or whether it was simply viewed as the easier option.

9. The Deputy Prime Minister has urged all parties not to politicise the report, particularly in the lead-up to the Negeri Sembilan election. That appeal has merit. However, when such a call is made by a senior political leader on the eve of an election, it inevitably carries political implications of its own.

10. The government has also announced that enforcement agencies will conduct a full investigation into any possible legal breaches identified in the report. This is the real test. Announcing investigations is easy. The greater challenge is ensuring that they lead to genuine referrals, prosecutions or disciplinary action where warranted, rather than becoming another headline that fades from public attention.

11. Malaysians are not demanding that everyone be prosecuted. They simply want every finding to be properly investigated until there is a clear and accountable outcome.

12. If the report was completed in 2022, what actions have been taken over the past four years? How many investigations were opened? How many individuals were called to provide statements? How many investigation papers were referred to the prosecution authorities? These are legitimate questions that deserve equally legitimate answers.

13. Tabung Haji has stated that the institution has "moved forward." That may well be true. However, institutional recovery is one thing; individual accountability is another. An institution can recover financially while those responsible for poor decisions or abuses of power are never held accountable. That is precisely the outcome that must be avoided.

14. In the months ahead, the public should pay close attention to whether these investigations remain free from political influence, proceed within a reasonable timeframe, and ultimately produce tangible outcomes, whether in the form of prosecutions, disciplinary action, or transparent explanations where no further action is warranted.

15. The publication of the RCI report is a beginning, not an end. The real test lies not in the day the report was released, but in what happens afterwards. Will it lead to meaningful justice, or will it become yet another report that is read, discussed and eventually forgotten?

16. Malaysians do not merely want to know what happened. They want to know who was responsible, what action has been taken, and whether the rule of law truly applies equally to everyone, regardless of position or influence.

17. Until those questions are answered, the RCI report will not have fully achieved its purpose. That is the true measure of justice.

~ Dr Armin Baniaz Pahamin

31 July 2026