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Rapper-turned-politician Syed Ahmad Syed Abdul Rahman Al-Hadad, better known as Altimet, has come under fire from netizens after linking the Tabung Haji issue to delays in pilgrims performing the haj.

The Lembah Jaya PKR assemblyman sparked debate after sharing a post on Threads, where he questioned how many prospective pilgrims had their turn delayed following the governance issues surrounding Tabung Haji.

His remarks were made in response to another Threads user who appeared to blame the 1MDB scandal for delaying the writer’s grandmother’s pilgrimage.

View on Threads

“How many people had their haj turn delayed because of all these issues? How many of them were elderly?

“People are busy pointing fingers, but don’t forget those who became the victims,” Altimet wrote.

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However, many Threads users pushed back against the claim, arguing that the waiting period for haj is primarily determined by the quota allocated to each country by Saudi Arabia rather than Tabung Haji’s governance issues.

Several users acknowledged that weaknesses in Tabung Haji’s governance should be scrutinised, but said they should not be conflated with the scheduling of haj departures for depositors.

Threads user @hazumanzainul said the issue of delayed pilgrimage dates was unrelated to the governance controversy.

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“I understand there were governance issues at Tabung Haji. But delays in haj turns are because of Saudi Arabia’s quota. What does that have to do with the case?” the user wrote.

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Another user, @emptydeparture1, argued that Altimet, as an elected representative, should have relied on official data instead of making assumptions.

View on Threads

“Now that you’re an assemblyman, why not provide the actual numbers? If you’re just talking without data, you might as well go back to making music. Know your place,” the user commented.

A similar point was raised by @bell_zuhairie, who also questioned the basis of Altimet’s remarks.

View on Threads

Meanwhile, @mohdsalihin.lihinz disputed the suggestion that Tabung Haji depositors had their pilgrimage delayed because of the issue.

“Has anyone actually had their haj turn delayed? What we’ve always seen is the government requesting Saudi Arabia to increase Malaysia’s haj quota,” the user wrote.

View on Threads

The exchange quickly gained traction on Threads, with many users insisting that while governance failures at Tabung Haji deserve public scrutiny, they should not be confused with Malaysia’s haj quota system, which is determined annually by the Saudi authorities.

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