Kuala lumpur: The Prime Minister's absence from today's Special Dewan Rakyat sitting on the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) should not be an excuse for not following the briefing and debating issues involving the interests and savings of Muslims. Senior Political Adviser to the Prime Minister, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, in a social media post, questioned the decision by several Members of Parliament to stage a walkout while issues concerning TH were being explained in the Dewan Rakyat.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Tengku Zafrul emphasized that the debate was not about the Prime Minister but about the savings of Muslims in Tabung Haji. He posed the question of whether the absence of the Prime Minister meant MPs could not listen and debate. He urged MPs to use the opportunity to question, debate, or criticise the government based on facts if there were matters they disagreed with.

Tengku Zafrul further stated that if something was wrong, MPs should stand up and question it. He highlighted the importance of debating disagreements and confronting the government with facts if necessary. He emphasized that it was acceptable to disagree but cautioned against appearing indifferent.

He described the TH issue as one of the most significant involving the Muslim and Malay economy in the country's history, impacting the savings of people from various segments of society. Earlier, several Perikatan Nasional (PN) MPs, including Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, walked out of the Dewan Rakyat and did not participate in the debate on the RCI report on TH, which was tabled by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Dr Zulkifli Hasan. The walkout included PN chief whip Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan and PN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Samsuri Mokhtar.

The Dewan Rakyat sitting focused on debating the RCI report on the management and operations of TH from 2014 to 2020. The special sitting provided MPs the chance to examine the 211-page RCI report, which was made public on July 29 following the government's decision to release it to the public.