Mujahid: Tabung Haji paid dividends despite more liabilities than assets

KUALA LUMPUR: Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mujahid Yusof Rawa says pilgrims fund Tabung Haji (TH) has been paying dividends to its depositors despite bearing liabilities that are significantly higher than its assets.

Speaking in a press conference at Parliament today, the minister in charge of Islamic affairs said TH recorded assets of RM7.3 billion up till December 2017, but liabilities of RM74.4 billion.

“This is the point I want to make: TH has been paying off dividends, or ‘hibah’ to its depositors despite bearing a much higher liability.

“The decision also contravenes the TH Act itself where it says TH can only pay dividends to depositors when it is making money or has a higher number of assets.”

After Pakatan Harapan took over the government and appointed a new management team, he said, top audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) was hired to re-evaluate TH’s financial position for 2017.

He said the auditors discovered that TH had been paying dividends despite its high liabilities since 2014.

The Parit Buntar MP also said the government had given approval for the management team, led by TH’s group managing director and CEO Zukri Samat to start a comprehensive turnaround plan in a bid to close the gap between TH’s assets and liabilities.

“We have set up a special purpose vehicle to manage TH’s current financial situation and try to maximise the use of TH’s under-performing assets,” he said, adding that TH would be placed under the supervision of Bank Negara Malaysa beginning Jan 1 next year.

“We want to restore our depositors’ confidence in TH,” he said.

The 2017 Auditor-General’s (A-G) Report last week revealed that TH failed to record an asset impairment of RM227.81 million in three subsidiary companies and three associate companies, especially its investment in associate company TH Heavy Engineering Bhd amounting to RM164.58 million.

The A-G added that TH’s policy on reporting the impairment of assets was inconsistent.

The policy was changed every year while, in the financial year ending Dec 31, 2017, it was even changed twice.

TH entered the limelight when the fund’s new management lodged police reports against seven former senior management officers over past financial transactions made by them. -FMT