KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 — The government has yet to fully settle its RM12.5 billion financial commitment to Lembaga Tabung Haji following the maturity of a Sukuk Urusan Jamaah Sdn Bhd (UJSB) instrument in May, former economy minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli said.

In a statement on Facebook last night, Rafizi said only RM965 million of the RM12.5 billion owed to Tabung Haji had been settled through property assets, while the remaining RM11.5 billion was replaced with another sukuk that will mature in 2036.

He said the property assets comprised a plot of land at the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) and plantation land in Sarawak.

“The Sukuk UJSB Series 1 matured on May 29, 2026.

“Properly, the government should settle its commitment to fully redeem the RM12.5 billion owed to Tabung Haji, either in cash or equivalent assets,” the statement read.

Rafizi said the financial restructuring of Tabung Haji approved by the government in late 2018 involved the federal government, through wholly owned company Urusan Jamaah Sdn Bhd (UJSB), taking over loss-making Tabung Haji assets at values higher than their actual worth.

In return, UJSB issued two series of sukuk to Tabung Haji, with the federal government required to redeem the instruments upon maturity in 2026 and 2029, either in cash or assets at recovered value.

He said the arrangement was intended as a temporary measure to restore Tabung Haji’s reserves to positive levels and allow it to continue paying returns to depositors.

Rafizi said the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report into Tabung Haji’s management and operations from 2014 to 2020, particularly pages 107 to 137, highlighted the need for the government to make annual budget allocations to fulfil its commitments when the sukuk matured.

He said the Pakatan Harapan, Perikatan Nasional and current administrations had approved allocations for the redemption of the UJSB sukuk since 2019.

Rafizi said the government under then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad approved at least RM17.8 billion on April 5, 2019 to cover the shortfall in the redemption of UJSB sukuk, with the commitment subsequently carried forward under the 12th Malaysia Plan during Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s administration.

He claimed that only RM500 million had so far been paid to Tabung Haji to redeem the UJSB sukuk, citing the RCI’s findings.

He also said the RM1.5 billion approved under Budget 2021 during the Perikatan Nasional administration was not paid to Tabung Haji, with the government at the time citing the need to support economic recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Therefore, tomorrow’s parliamentary debate should receive a clear explanation from the government on where the billions allocated over the years to restore Tabung Haji have gone,” he said yesterday. 

Rafizi said repeatedly deferring the government’s commitment by replacing one debt instrument with another could leave Tabung Haji facing liquidity and cash-flow risks in the future.

The Dewan Rakyat will hold a special sitting today to debate the RCI report on Tabung Haji’s management and operations from 2014 to 2020, which was made public on July 29.