The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) announced it is prepared to oversee the fund management and investments of Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) if Putrajaya decides to assign this role to the commission [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. SC chairman Datuk Mohammad Faiz Azmi confirmed the SC is awaiting the government’s decision and emphasized that any implementation would follow official instructions.
"If the government deems it appropriate, we will implement it," said Datuk Mohammad Faiz Azmi during a statement today. He noted that a joint task force, consisting of the SC, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), and TH, is reviewing proposals from the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on TH’s operations [1].
The RCI report recommended placing TH’s investment function under a specialized department called Dana Haji within TH. This department would be registered or licensed under the SC to enhance regulatory oversight [2, 5]. Given TH’s substantial investment portfolio, Faiz Azmi said it is appropriate for the agency to be subject to a regulatory framework.
"TH is an agency with high investments, so it should indeed be regulated," Faiz Azmi said. "But the decision is with the government. I will follow the order" [2].
To preserve the Shariah compliance of TH’s investments, the RCI also proposed establishing a Shariah committee within the new regulatory framework, similar to those in Islamic banks, to reassure depositors [2, 4, 5]. Faiz Azmi explained, "The recommendation in the review is to establish a Shariah committee, like those in Islamic banks. That will reassure depositors that what they invest in is indeed Shariah-compliant" [2].
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for Religious Affairs, Dr Zulkifli Hasan, publicly stated that the SC’s involvement in overseeing TH’s fund management is part of efforts to strengthen oversight [1, 3, 4, 5].
The ongoing task force will continue assessing the RCI’s proposals and recommend which measures should be put into effect. The final decision to empower the SC with regulatory authority over TH’s investments rests with the federal government.
