Withdraw haj deposit: TH depositors may have to wait 70 years to perform pilgrimage

Tabung Haji (TH) depositors who withdrew their haj registration deposit together with their savings will lose their turn to perform the pilgrimage for up to 70 years, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom said depositor who withdrew their savings simply because of the slander made against TH recently, would automatically lose their turn to perform the pilgrimage, if they also withdrew the deposit for the haj registration.

Depositors are required to deposit RM1,300 of their savings in TH for the haj registration, following which they would be given the date they would be due to perform the pilgrimage.

They would also lose in terms of dividend and bonus payments, he said in response to a question from Datuk Ahmad Hamzah (BN-Jasin).

Jamil Khir mentioned about a letter issued by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to TH which was exploited by some quarters which resulted in TH's image to be tarnished when various negative allegations were hurled at the Pilgrims' Fund Board.

He said TH's financial position for 2015 was strong and was at its highest since its establishment.

"The average bonus payment between 1994 and 1999 was below RM550 million, while the bonus payment for 2015 totalled RM3.2 billion," " he said.