Tabung Haji maintains haj payment at RM9,980

PETALING JAYA: Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) is maintaining the payment for each haj pilgrim this year at RM9,980, although expenses for each pilgrim have risen to RM18,890.
TH Board of Directors member Tan Sri Abdul Shukor Husin said TH's overall subsidy for haj pilgrims is expected to rise to RM160 million this year from RM125 million last year.
"For the haj season last year, TH provided a subsidy of RM7,290 for each pilgrim in order to maintain the payment at RM9,980, although the real cost had risen to RM17,270 per person," he told reporters at the company's annual corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme, Program Ehsan TH, here today.
Abdul Shukor said TH has been maintaining the payment for each haj pilgrim at RM9,980 since 2007 as its main CSR programme.
At today's event, TH contributed a total of RM315,000 to 630 poor and needy individuals who are asnaf (eligible zakat recipients).
TH targets to contribute a total of RM2.2 million to 4,408 asnaf nationwide this year, including to the elderly, single parents and the disabled.
TH's other CSR programmes include Program Mobiliti under which selected mosques are presented dual-function vehicles, Program Baiti for building and repairing houses and Program Iqra' (for education). — Bernama