Chemotheraphy on TH by Zukri and Yati

Those with family member suffering from cancer should be familiar with chemotheraphy. It is the use of drugs for treatment meant to kill cancer cell.

The side effect of chemotheraphy is that it also damage other healthy cells. In Malaysia, doctor tend to focus on drug treatment without complimenting it with diet. Often, it speed the path to death.

The turnaround modus operandi by new CEO of Lembaga Tabung Haji, Dato Zukri Samat is equivalent to doing a chemo on Tabung Haji.

In the mid-December posting, "Tabung Haji: Empress Dowager or Special "Perompak" Vehicle?", sources told this blog that Zukri has a tendency to apply the wrong experience from his days at Danaharta in his turnaround of Bank Islam.

He is doing the same at Tabung Haji.

It is only expected of Tabung Haji to face financial difficulties due to the decline of the stock market and oil palm prices. The Fund has large exposure in plantation, which in the past is considered a safe and conservative investment.

It is possible, and it is still subject to investigation, that the Tabung Haji's tight process in making investment may have leakages.

However, Zukri and the Empress Dowagers worsen situation with their suspected behind-the-scene manipulations.

In cahoot with a Datin Wan Norhiyati Wan Ibrahim, or usually addressed as Yati by the media community, from the PR agency, WHM Networks Sdn Bhd, they are consciously destroying the good name of Tabung Haji, locally and internationally.

That is no way to turnaround an internationally respected Malaysian Islamic institution. This is not Selamatkan Malaysia but menjahanamkan (destroying) one institution after another.

Wicked turnaround game

At Tabung Haji, Zukri is applying the same wicked turnaround game done at Bank Islam where he indiscriminately wrote off loans by imposing extraneously stringent new conditions to turn loans bad and trigger huge losses to the bank.

But, it was only a typical corporate playbook to blame on the previous management.

It was the same manner Anwar did as Minister of Finance to worsen the economic decline during the currency crisis in late 1990s to serve his political appetite to ouster Tun Dr Mahathir.

Bank Islam suffered for many years, staff retrenched, and senior and middle management forced to resign or harrassed by police reports and stress of getting investigated by police.

For that, Zukri was awarded Islamic Banker of the Year and earned the reputation as a corporate turnaround expert for Islamic institution.

It was bad loans at Bank Islam and unrealised portfolio losses and allegation of negative net liability of the fund at Tabung Haji.

With the transfer of RM19.3 billion asset from Tabung Haji to Ministry of Finance's Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), Zukri and the gang actions are already detrimental to an important Islamic economic institution and the general Malaysian Muslim economy at large.

Already staff and members of the Tabung Haji management are intentionally made redundant. A matter of time, the same purge at Bank Islam will happen at Tabung Haji and their livelihood affected by Zukri's irresponsible actions.

Actually, Zukri does not deserve to be called turnaround expert. In Malaysia, so-called experts hardly do operational turnaround but merely financial manipulation and window washing corporate restructuring.

Despite the magic trick of SPV, a low hibah of about 2% will be announced in a few weeks time. It will not be a shock should there be a mini "run on the bank". Yati will try her very best to paint a glowing future of Tabung Haji. That is the way she earn her living.

The reality, which Yati may not able to gauge for being high up there of BN's landslide win at Cameron Highland, is that rakyat is losing confidence with the PH government.

There is the likelihood that the announcement will be politicise to blame the previous management and previous government. They should do so.

Tabung Haji depositors realised that current management is helping corporate predators steal their assets. It is them that is the guilty one for announcing false hibah using SPV as vehicle for financial manipulation.

From a mini, it could turn major with depositers keeping bare minimal just to qualify for their Haj.

Yati's nasty PR

Yati conducting a workshop

There are reasons to believe that Yati, the PR hired by Zukri, leaked information to Singapore's Straits Times on Yayasan Tabung Haji and sale of PT TH Indo Plantation that was later made into a police report.

It is easy to suspect because Zukri always relied on Yati for PR work in his past so-called turnaround effort and definitely the present.

If no insider leak, there is no way such information would reach Straits Times just days before the media blitz on the police reports made by Tabung Haji.

It is suspected that Yati was also behind the leak to The Edge on the SPV plan before it was later announced by Minister in charge, Mujahid Yusof. The details was close to the blueprint!

This is all simple textbook PR leak game to prepare the ground before the more stunning event to follow. It helps to boost the impact of the media blitz.

This is not the first time Zukri, the Empress Dowagers, and Yati are suspected of doing on their targeted victims. At Bank Islam, they did the same. With the same trend of actions, it begs the question: Do they have a crooked cop at Commercial Crime on their payroll to collaborate?

On the first two police reports, reliable sources claimed police has yet to make any investigations. That is more than a month already, thus raising the possibility that it was merely a show or media drama put up by Yati.

It is a drama to justify DAP-controlled SPV to "steal" RM19.3 billion worth of assets belonging to the millions of Tabung Haji depositers. From revelation to report, followed by the transfer of assets, it was done swiftly within less than a month.

Initially, leak reports claimed it will be shares that has significant losses that will be transferred.

It turned out only the good investments of LTH was taken out.

Talk on the streets, not quite Wall Street, certain corporate players are eyeing block of shares belonging to Tabung Haji to bottom fish an acquisition or be vehicle to undertake contracts cancelled by PH government.

SPV is truly a vehicle to merompak (rob). A soon as the dust settle, wait for the announced sales of shares by the SPV.

If the first two reports may yet be investigated by police, the raid by MACC on COO Dato Adi Azuan based on MACC report made against him turned out nothing.

A first hand informer said Adi paid the contractor for his house interior decoration with his own money and all the documentations are in order and properly verified. 

If this was a typical Zukri fix up job, it failed miserably like failed attempts on Bank Islam staff made in the past.

Who is related to PWC Chairman?

Zukri, Empress Dowagers and Yati had just executed the third police report on alleged misrepresentation of the FY2017 accounts to substantiate their claim the hibah paid out for that year was illegal due to the Fund's total asset being below total liability.

The mid-December posting already delved into the matter and explained they applied commercial accounting standards on statutory body accounts.

Their allegation was based on a PWC report. Although the report referred to an Ernst and Young opinion that verified the asset level of Tabung Haji Fund as higher than its liabilities, Zukri and Empress Dowager may have insisted on and influenced the Tabung Haji's Board of Directors otherwise.

It is to justify the police report and put their playbook into motion.
    
However, there are reason to question the PWC report as there are sources suspecting collusion.

Apparently, the PWC Executive Chairman, Dato Ahmad Faiz Azmi may be related either direct family ties or by marriage to someone involved in the conspiracy against Tabung Haji.

The conspiracy involved Bank Negara Malaysia too. 

It need to be confirmed but PWC role could be a conflict of interest. And, hiring PWC could be misconstrued as related party transaction.

Guilty by media blitz

Former Tabung Haji CEO, Dato Johan Abdullah with Zukri following his resignation as CEO of Bank Islam in 2015

Nevertheless, the manner Zukri and Yati is doing their PR work by unethically leaking inside information to international media  has to be questioned.

Normally, a PR agency would try to mitigate the fallout of such negative development.

Instead, Yati is part of the effort to insidiously tarnish and jeopardise Tabung Haji's name. She has damaged the reputation of Tabung Haji before court judged any of Tabung Haji's previous member of management with any wrongdoing.

By playing up the police reports made in the media, she is intentionally creating the perception that the previous management and the institution Tabung Haji as guilty before any investigation done and court convened to hear any case that could be brought by police.

It smacks of slander and revenge.

Their actions will certainly have impact on Tabung Haji's business operations. The Fund has a major stake in Bank Islam and it could certainly ruined the Bank's credit standing and operations. In banking and investment, name could be everything.

Perhaps, it is intended to limit Tabung Haji's capacity and capability in undertaking investment and business operation themselves. The function could be planned to be outsourced to friendly Investment Bankers, and Fund Managers. A certain Advisory Service company could structure and market Sukuk Bond issue for Tabung Haji. It would be for a fee, definitely.

It serves a long held intention of Tan Sri Zeti to reduce Tabung Haji to a deposit taking company with a Haj management operations.

And, it could be something DAP had wanted to do for decades i.e. weaken the strength of an Islamic institution in the economy.

Maybe a police report should be made on Zukri and Yati for police to investigate them. There are penal code offenses done.