TH depositors who withdraw will lose spot in haj queue

Tabung Haji depositors who withdraw money from the pilgrimage fund will need to wait until they are old before they can perform the haj, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Jamil Khir Baharom said.

He said many depositors are withdrawing their deposits after losing faith, following "slander" against Tabung Haji, Bernama reported.

He said those who do so will automatically forfeit their place in the haj queue.

"If they withdraw, they also withdraw themselves from the haj queue...and when they withdraw and re-register at a later date, they will need to wait, maybe until they are more than 70 years old.

"There are 8.8 million depositors who want to perform the haj and are saving with Tabung Haji because they are comfortable with the high dividinds and syariah compliance," he told the Dewan Rakyat.

Muslims who have at least RM1,300 in the Tabung Haji accounts are placed in a queue to perform the haj.

The Saudi government allocates country quotas each year for haj pilgrims, to cope with overcrowding and safety concerns during the pilgrimage season.

Jamil Khir was responding to a question by Ahmad Hamzah (BN-Jasin), who asked how the fund is impacted by quarters who misconstrued the cautionary letter sent by Bank Negara Malaysia to Tabung Haji.

Bank Negara Malaysia had cautioned Tabung Haji over its low reserves, which could undermine ability to pay dividends.

The central bank in the letter leaked by fund insiders, and later confirmed by Bank Negara Malaysia, said this would spook depositors into mass withdrawals.

Tabung Haji later said it had taken measures to address the central bank's concerns, and that its assets surpasses its liabilities as at December 2015. -Mkini