High Cost of Hajj: Malaysia haj subsidy to rise to RM500 million in 2024

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Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Mohd Na’im Mokhtar says TH expects haj financial aid to increase to almost RM500 million in 2024 if the cost of performing the pilgrimage is not reviewed. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, March 23, 2023.

 

LEMBAGA Tabung Haji (TH) expects the haj financial aid to increase to almost RM500 million in 2024 if the cost of performing the pilgrimage is not reviewed.

 

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Mohd Na’im Mokhtar said the matter will have an impact on TH as it needs to provide reasonable profit distribution to its depositors.

 

“Every year, TH faces various challenges in haj management, including the increase in the cost of performing pilgrimage which is beyond TH’s control, which affects its financial sustainability as well as the challenge of maintaining the best level of service,” he said during Ministers’ Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today.

 

“However, TH will continue the financial support for those performing the haj for the first time.”

 

He said this in his reply to a question from Ahamad Saad @ Yahaya (Pokok Sena-PN), who wanted to know the basis of the cost of performing haj for the B40, M40 and T20 groups.

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Na’im said even if they are eligible to receive financial assistance, prospective pilgrims in the B40 and M40 groups are given the opportunity to voluntarily pay more than the set rate, even though they may not be able to pay the full cost.

 

For the 1444H/2023 haj season, the cost is RM30,850 for each muassasah pilgrim in Malaysia, an 8% increase from RM28,632 last year, and from 2001-2022, as much as RM2.2 billion has been spent on haj financial assistance.

 

Na’im said TH always collaborates with several government agencies to cross-check information on prospective pilgrims with the existing database related to their income.

 

He said the targeted haj payment rate takes into account the financial level of the prospective pilgrim individually and not the household income.

 

In his reply to a supplementary question from Mohd Isam Mohd Isa (Tampin-BN) regarding the proposal to establish a haj waqf fund to provide equal financial assistance to pilgrims, Na’im said the matter could be considered after evaluating its effectiveness.

Bernama, March 23, 2023.

 

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