FORMER Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia supreme council member A Kadir Jasin mocked the hypocrisy of Government leaders after the latter decided to place Tabung Haji under Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) purview.
“When the Pakatan Harapan Government transferred Tabung Haji’s non-profitable assets to a special purpose vehicle (SPV) under the Finance Ministry, critics went ballistic.
“They even accused Pakatan of selling off Tabung Haji to the Chinese. Unfortunately, there were many Malay-Muslims, oblivious to corporate operations and its functions, fell for the lie.
“But now, the Perikatan Nasional Government has openly declared that it will change Tabung Haji’s status and place it under BNM’s purview,” he said, in a Facebook post.
Two days ago, Finance Ministry announced that Tabung Haji will now come under BNM purview, as per Section 223 of the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013.
Tabung Haji has been embroiled with financial issues for years, with its former chairperson Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim being hauled up to court on three corruption charges, in addition to 10 other charges of money laundering.
Earlier, Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan decried the Government’s decision to change Tabung Haji’s status, claiming it would be treated as a financial institution or savings funds henceforth.
“The establishment would lose sight of the purpose of its founding, which is to uplift the ummah,” the Rantau state assemblyman was reported saying.
Founding objectives getting murky
Echoing Mohamad Hasan’s sentiments, Kadir said that Tabung Haji would cease to be a statutory body under the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), where it’s objective is to handle issues pertaining to Malaysians’ Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
“Under Section 223 of the Islamic Financial Services Act, Tabung Haji will become an Islamic financial institution,” he noted.
In an article at Sinar Harian, Kadir elaborated that while BNM would impose strict regulations on Tabung Haji to ensure sound financial management, he feared that it would lose sight of its original purpose of handling Hajj pilgrimage affairs.
As a financial institution, he stated it was natural for BNM to prioritise Tabung Haji’s transformation as a bona fide financial institution, respected by all quarters.
“But Tabung Haji will lose its autonomy in handling pilgrims’ affairs. It will also have to compete with other financial institutions to get better deposits, not for the sake of Hajj affairs,” Kadir remarked. – July 18, 2021.
