This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on April 5, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: The restructuring and recovery plan of Lembaga Tabung Haji will be discussed during the cabinet meeting today, according to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, Dr Mahathir said Tabung Haji will announce its decision on dividends (hibah) for its financial year 2018 (FY18) to its 9.3 million depositors soon.

“The restructuring and recovery plan of Tabung Haji will be tabled during the cabinet meeting tomorrow (today). The cabinet will discuss in detail issues related to Tabung Haji’s financial positions and related matters including its ability to pay hibah to its depositors.

“God willing, we will provide full information on what has happened to Tabung Haji.

“Tabung Haji will make an announcement on the matter in the near future after the cabinet has come out with a decision,” Dr Mahathir said.

The prime minister was responding to a question from Datuk Dr Noraini Ahmad (Barisan Nasional-Parit Sulong).

“The fact is that there was massive theft by the management of Tabung Haji, and this of course affected [its] ability to provide returns to its depositors,” he added.

It was reported in December last year that Tabung Haji paid dividends using depositors’ savings for FY17, a financial position review by independent audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers revealed.

It is now undergoing a restructuring plan to balance its assets with liabilities and to generate distributable profits — two conditions that have to be fulfilled under the Tabung Haji Act 1995 in order for the fund to declare hibah to its depositors.