Malaysia's Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) secured seven-day remand orders for the former chairman of Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) and the former Treasury secretary-general from August 27 until September 2, 2026. The orders were granted by Magistrate Ezrene Zakariah at the Putrajaya Magistrate's Court following applications by MACC [1, 2, 3, 4].
Both men, in their 60s, were detained after voluntarily presenting themselves at MACC headquarters in Putrajaya at around 4pm on August 26 to assist with the probe. They arrived at the court dressed in standard orange lock-up attire and were handcuffed, escorted by MACC officers [5, 1, 6, 2, 7].
The investigation relates to findings from the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on Lembaga Tabung Haji, made public on July 29. The RCI report covered the period from 2014 to 2020, identifying management and operational weaknesses, problematic investments requiring forensic audits, suspicious transactions, and concealment of information [5, 1, 8, 9, 4].
A former Tabung Haji chief executive officer is also under investigation. His remand has been extended by four days to August 31, following an initial seven-day remand starting on August 21 [1, 10, 7, 11, 4].
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the investigation must continue to prevent losses to the country. “If there is evidence, charge them in court and then leave it to the judge,” he said, emphasizing adherence to due process despite criticism over the probe [8].
Lawyers representing the former TH chairman and Treasury secretary-general opposed the remand orders. They argued that the RCI report did not contain evidence of wrongdoing or misappropriation by their clients. The former Treasury secretary-general, Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah, was said not to have sat on the board of Putra Perdana or been implicated in any misappropriation, according to lawyer Datuk Seri K. Kumarendran [12].
Lawyer Datuk Abu Bakar Isa Ramat added that the former TH chairman, Datuk Seri Azeez, had previously been detained over Tabung Haji investigations in 2018 and that imposing a second remand was unnecessary, but the court nonetheless granted seven days [12].
The MACC began its probe after the RCI report was declassified on July 31. The former officials’ remands follow ongoing efforts to probe the issues raised in the commission report [2, 4].
The seven-day remand for the former chairman and former Treasury secretary-general expires on September 2, with investigations continuing as scheduled.
