Syed Saddiq questions whether Tabung Haji truly ‘saved’ after RM11.5 bil sukuk refinancing

Tuesday 22 Sep 2026

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KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 11): Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman questioned whether the government’s 2018 rescue of Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) had fully resolved its financial problems, warning that refinancing RM11.5 billion of related sukuk could leave future taxpayers to bear the cost.

Tenggara MP Manndzri Nasib also raised similar concerns.

Speaking during Tuesday’s special Dewan Rakyat sitting on the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on TH, Syed Saddiq said the government should progressively reduce the debt using cash or income-generating assets, rather than refinancing the obligation and pushing it further into the future.

“On paper, yes, Tabung Haji was saved. But the government must fulfil the financial commitments that make that rescue real,” Syed Saddiq said. “The government cannot run away from this question. You cannot just save Tabung Haji on paper.”

Syed Saddiq, who were among the few opposition lawmakers that decided to continue participating in the debate on Monday, also sought an updated account of the annual government funding that had been approved to support the Urusharta Jamaah Sdn Bhd (UJSB) restructuring, including how much had been disbursed since the RCI completed its report in 2022.

UJSB, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Minister of Finance Inc, was established as a special-purpose vehicle to remove underperforming assets from TH’s balance sheet.

In the RCI report, the commission noted that the Cabinet had approved at least RM17.8 billion in April 2019 to cover the expected shortfall in UJSB’s ability to redeem the sukuk. The allocation comprised RM500 million under the 11th Malaysia Plan and a further RM17.3 billion under the 12th and 13th Malaysia Plans, equivalent to approximately RM1.73 billion annually.

The commission recommended that the annual allocation be provided to UJSB in cash and used exclusively for the early redemption of the sukuk held by TH. However, the RCI recorded that TH had received only RM500 million in cash by the time of its inquiry — comprising the original RM300 million payment and RM200 million from an early sukuk redemption in November 2020.

It also found that a RM1.5 billion allocation approved under Budget 2021 had not been disbursed to UJSB because government funds were prioritised for economic recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic.

As such, Syed Saddiq called on the government to disclose how much had subsequently been provided, how the allocations were used and why most of the Series 1 obligation was ultimately refinanced.

TH chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Hussain previously described the refinancing as a sensible and normal corporate exercise. In an interview with The Edge, Rashid said refinancing and restructuring were common in financial markets and that the arrangement avoided disruption to TH.

Most of UJSB’s Series 1 sukuk were replaced with another debt instrument when it matured on May 29, 2026. The Series 1 sukuk had a redemption value of about RM12.5 billion at maturity. Of this, RM965

million was settled through the transfer of a 0.63ha parcel of land in the Tun Razak Exchange and a 8,756.92ha of plantation land in Sarawak. The remaining RM11.5 billion was refinanced through a new 10-year sukuk carrying a coupon rate of 3.825%, extending the obligation to May 2036.

Edited ByPresenna Nambiar

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