KUALA LUMPUR: Umno secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki has rejected a call by PKR Youth wing Angkatan Muda Keadilan (AMK) for him to be investigated in connection with the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the management of Lembaga Tabung Haji.
Asyraf, who is also Mara chairman, said there was no basis to link him to the RCI as his name was not mentioned in the report and he had never been linked to the Tabung Haji issue.
He described the call as an attempt to create perceptions aimed at tarnishing his reputation and that of Mara.
“This is not about Dr Asyraf Wajdi. This is about Mara, an institution entrusted to the Malay and Bumiputera community,” he said at a press conference ahead of the 2026 Umno general assembly on Thursday (Sept 3).
AMK Exco member Dzul Hilmi Zainol had called for all parties linked to the issue to be called and questioned, including Asyraf.
Dzul Hilmi said Asyraf, who was a deputy minister at the time and chief of the Malaysian Hajj delegation, had attended the 2017 signing of a hotel lease agreement between Tabung Haji and Al-Rawda.
He stressed that the call did not mean Asyraf was guilty, but said all relevant parties should be questioned to uncover the truth.
Asyraf said any decision on his position as Mara chairman should be made by Deputy Prime Minister and Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who oversees the agency.
On former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who has been charged in court, and former minister Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, who was remanded to assist investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Asyraf said Umno would not pre-judge party leaders facing legal action.
“They have only just been charged, while some have only just been investigated. They have not been found guilty.
“We should not pre-judge the courts or disregard the principle of the rule of law. A person should not be considered or perceived as guilty until he has been found guilty by the court and gone through the entire legal process,” he said.
Asyraf also said Umno would not stop delegates from raising current issues, including those involving party leaders, during the four-day general assembly beginning on Sept 9 at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur.
He said delegates represented the grassroots and the party headquarters should not dictate what they could or could not raise.
“What is raised is not an individual's voice, but the voice of the grassroots from their respective branches, divisions and states.
“It would not be appropriate for the headquarters to limit what they can or cannot raise,” he said.
