Govt assures Tabung Haji depositors their savings remain protected

The government has assured nearly 10 million Tabung Haji depositors that their savings remain protected. Finance Minister II, Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan, said the government bailed out the institution with a RM10.2 billion rescue package during its 2018 restructuring. This intervention aimed to protect depositors' savings and enable Tabung Haji to distribute hibah, or religious funds.

According to Amir, the government bore the full RM10.2 billion cost of the bailout, which involved transferring underperforming assets from Tabung Haji to Urusharta Jamaah Sdn Bhd, a wholly government-owned company. These assets were valued at approximately RM9.6 billion, with the government effectively paying about RM19.8 billion, resulting in a RM10.2 billion uplift for Tabung Haji.

Without this bailout, the institution would have struggled to provide hibah in the future. Amir also defended the government's obligations under the sukuk issued during the restructuring, stating that the sukuk has a maturity value of around RM27 billion, with Tabung Haji receiving about RM440 million annually in return. He assured that the government would honor its commitment to early redemption of the sukuk whenever financial conditions permit.

Despite raising concerns about potential payment default risks, Amir emphasized that the government has never defaulted on its debt obligations and would continue to fulfill its guarantee commitments.