Placing Lembaga Tabung Haji under the supervision of Bank Negara Malaysia is crucial to the fund refocusing on its original purpose, says PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.

However, more needs to be done in terms of supervision, Anwar said without elaborating further.

Speaking to reporters at the Fourth Annual Symposium on Islamic Finance in Kuala Lumpur today, he said the pilgrims’ fund was a good institution, but had been mismanaged by those who used it for political or personal interests.

“Tabung Haji is an example of how the damage has been inflicted and trust betrayed. It is not the fault of the institution, nor investors, but the management that misused power to rob the people and action should be taken against them,” he added.

Yesterday, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mujahid Yusof Rawa said that Tabung Haji would be placed under the supervision of the central bank from January next year, in a move to win back the trust of depositors.

Mujahid said the cabinet has given its full support for the recovery of Tabung Haji, which includes the establishment of a special purpose vehicle this month.

The function of the SPV is to take over, restore and maximise the recovery effort of underperforming assets, as well as sales of the assets to improve Tabung Haji's financial position.

Anwar also said that the Islamic financial system must have a clear shift and discuss issues, including poverty.

“Over the past few decades, this issue has been sidelined. But it is, at present, a key agenda of Islamic financial institutions, including banks, to focus on the community in general.

“Generating growth is not just having a system that is halal, but it must also be just and encourage equality,” he added.

- Bernama