KUALA LUMPUR: No assets of Lembaga Tabung Haji have been sold to non-Muslims, says the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs), Dr Zulkifli Hasan (pic).
“I would like to clarify that no assets had been sold to non-Muslims or the Chinese community, as falsely alleged by certain irresponsible parties who tried to sow hatred and incite others,” he said during his briefing to the Dewan Rakyat on the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) findings on Tuesday (Aug 11).
“This asset is owned by Urusharta Jamaah, a wholly owned company of the Minister of Finance Inc,” he added.
He said Tabung Haji was insolvent in 2018 and had to be bailed out.
“This situation ultimately compelled the Pakatan Harapan government to rescue (bail out) Tabung Haji through a restructuring plan to restore its financial position, enabling Tabung Haji to return to solvency and remain sustainable in the long term,” he said.
After considering four options to stabilise Tabung Haji, the Cabinet ultimately decided to sell underperforming and problematic assets valued at RM9.7bil at a significantly higher premium of RM19.9bil—more than double their value—to close the RM10bil deficit between assets and liabilities. This measure was intended to immediately rescue and restore Tabung Haji’s financial position,” he added.
As such, Tabung Haji had sold 106 listed shares, 29 properties and a palm oil plantation company to Urusharta Jamaah Sdn Bhd (UJSB), a government-owned special purpose vehicle.
UJSB had issued sukuk which were fully subscribed by Tabung Haji to finance the acquisition
The RCI report was released to the public on July 29. The Dewan Rakyat is holding a one-day sitting to discuss the findings.
