MUSLIMS THE ONES WHO ROBBED TABUNG HAJI – YET UMNO & PAS MALAY ULTRAS NOW AGITATE OVER RM19.9 BILLION OF BAD ASSETS BEING TRANSFERRED TO GUAN ENG’S MINISTRY: ‘ASSETS BELONGING TO MUSLIMS WILL BE CONTROLLED BY NON-MUSLIMS & MUSLIMS WILL LOSE OUT’ THEIR NEW-OLD BATTLE CRY

PETALING JAYA: An economist has rubbished claims that the transfer of RM19.9 billion in underperforming assets belonging to Tabung Haji (TH) to a special purpose vehicle (SPV) under the finance ministry is detrimental to Islam and Muslims.

Speaking to FMT, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak economist Barjoyai Bardai said the transfer of assets, a key component of the pilgrim fund’s turnaround plan, should not be viewed through racial and religious lenses.

Many social media users had criticised the move, saying it would lead to assets belonging to Muslims being controlled by non-Muslims, and that Muslims would lose out through the move.

But Barjoyai said the move would actually protect TH depositors as the SPV would be managed by experts and professionals who could turn things around.

“TH’s other options are to sell its assets but then it won’t have these assets. This way, there is a chance of salvaging them.

“What is important is that there is transparency and accountability in how these assets are managed. Of course, in the case of TH, these assets must be managed in line with Islamic values and not linked to non-halal businesses.”

Barjoyai said as such, it didn’t matter who managed the assets but how they were managed.

Universiti Malaya economist Mohd Nazari Ismail said there was no need for depositors to worry as their deposits were still guaranteed by the government.

In fact, he said, he did not see any possibility of Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng interfering in TH as it would come under Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) supervision beginning Jan 1.

“BNM is an independent body and is concerned with TH because of the impact on the country’s financial system should there be any loss of confidence in TH. Depositors should be happy now because there will be stricter supervision of TH by BNM.

“TH is now independent of political interference and will not be used by politicians for their political agenda. So depositors should be pleased with the situation.”

Nazari said the bigger issue was that TH was a risk-free investment fund generating high returns for investors.

“It therefore became a place for very rich Malays to earn risk-free returns on their investments. If TH suffers a loss, then ordinary Malaysian taxpayers will have to bail them out because it is guaranteed by the government.

“Is that a fair arrangement? That is the bigger issue.”

Yesterday, TH announced its turnaround plans for the coming year including transferring RM19.9 billion in underperforming assets to an SPV under the finance ministry.

The assets comprise properties of yields under 2% per annum, such as the land it purchased from 1MDB in 2015 and equities with an impairment of 20%.

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