Chemotheraphy on TH by Zukri and Yati
Another Brick in the Wall
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 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.
