Former Economy Minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli has urged the government to clarify how it plans to address the issue of zakat payments for Tabung Haji (TH) depositors between 2016 and 2019, following findings in the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on the pilgrimage fund.
Rafizi, who is also the founder of Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama), said the matter has sparked widespread concern and anger among the public, particularly within the Muslim community.
“Among the many issues highlighted in the RCI report, one of the findings that has drawn the strongest reaction is the status of zakat payments made on behalf of Tabung Haji depositors,” he said in a statement on Monday.
He questioned whether the current Madani Government had settled the zakat obligations on behalf of depositors for the period between 2016 and 2019 after taking office.
Rafizi also called on Islamic institutions, including the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs (MKI) and state muftis, to provide guidance to depositors and advise both the government and the Tabung Haji Board (LTH) on resolving the matter promptly.
He said Tabung Haji should also issue a public explanation detailing what steps have been taken to ensure depositors are not left bearing outstanding zakat obligations, as many believed the institution had already paid the zakat on their behalf.
Referring to the RCI report, Rafizi said the commission found that Tabung Haji changed its Shariah contract from Mudarabah to Wadi’ah Yad Dhamanah in 2016, effectively reclassifying deposits as safekeeping funds.
According to him, the change was made after Tabung Haji was found to have used part of its investment profits to finance subsidies under the previous Mudarabah arrangement.
He said the shift in contract altered the legal relationship between Tabung Haji and its depositors, potentially making depositors personally liable to pay 2.5% zakat on their savings.
Rafizi noted that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) had previously raised concerns over the matter in a letter dated June 26, 2019, to then-prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, stating that zakat treatment under the Wadi’ah Yad Dhamanah contract might differ from previous arrangements.
He added that under the Wadi’ah Yad Dhamanah structure, Tabung Haji effectively became the borrower of depositors’ funds.
As a result, Rafizi said the zakat paid by Tabung Haji during that period represented the institution’s own business zakat rather than fulfilling the personal zakat obligations of individual depositors.
He pointed out that Tabung Haji only changed its Shariah contract again in December 2019, adopting the Wakalah concept.
According to the RCI, the commission concluded that zakat payments made by Tabung Haji between 2016 and 2019 under the Wadi’ah Yad Dhamanah arrangement were payments that should have been borne by the institution itself and did not discharge the zakat responsibilities of depositors.
The commission also found that the arrangement was inconsistent with the Tabung Haji Act 1995, which does not permit the institution to borrow depositors’ funds and does not subject it to zakat obligations in that capacity.
