THE cost for each muassasah pilgrim to perform the haj this year will remain RM9,980 from the actual cost of RM22,900, Minister in the Prime Minister Department Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa.

He said Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) will bear the remaining RM12,920 for each of the 31,600 Malaysian pilgrims at a total cost of RM408.2 million.

“This excludes other costs borne by the TH, such as organising Perdana haj courses amounting to RM70 million.

“Our Muassasah pilgrims will have to pay only RM9,980, the same amount as the past 10 years. In 2009, the actual cost of performing the haj was only RM12,000 and it has been increasing every year,” he told a press conference after the soft launch of the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) Residency project in Kuala Lumpur today.

Commenting on calls for a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to investigate the alleged misappropriation of funds in TH, Muhajid said an RCI should be set up to solve unexplained issues. 

TH’s issues have been identified after an audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers, a police report has been lodged and the case is now under police investigation, he said.

On MAIWP Residency, Mujahid said the construction of the 360-unit apartment project is expected to begin at the end of this year on MAIWP-owned land at Taman Pelangi Jaya, Gombak.

Each unit of the three-bedroom apartment, measuring 83.6-square metre, will be priced under RM300,000 with priority to be given to those in the B40 group, asnaf (tithe recipients) and among MAIWP staff.

“We hope to contribute to the affordable housing policy, which the government is working on to fulfil the aspiration to build one million affordable houses for the people within 10 years.

“We are also looking into other pieces of land that we own and we expect more would be developed,” he added. – Bernama, January 31, 2020.