Save for haj as subsidies may not be available often, advises expert

SHAH ALAM - Tabung Haji (TH) depositors are told to manage their finances well and not to hope for subsidies or financial assistance as it may not be often available.

Economic Analyst from Putra Business School Professor Dr Ahmed Razman Abdul Latiff said advised not spend prudently and not to in debt.

“Don’t expect too much on subsidies or financial aid," he said during a Sinar Harian wacana program titled ‘Cost of Haj Rising, Are There Still Subsidies?'.

Recently, the pilgrimage fund board introduced two categories of payment for pilgrims who perform the haj for the first time starting this year.

It would cost RM10,980 per person (RM1,000 increase) for the B40 category pilgrims, while a non-B40 category Muassasah pilgrims would pay RM12,980 per person – RM3,000 increase or an average of 2.3% per year.

It also expects the cost of performing Haj for Muassasah pilgrims this year to increase to more than RM25,000 per person following the hike in taxes and new service charges imposed by the Saudi Arabian government. TH said the cost was due to a 12 percent increase in cost for Muassasah pilgrims compared with RM22,900 in 2019.

Commenting further, Razman said that amount set by TH to perform Haj is financially challenging.

“After the pandemic, a lot of people may have lost jobs or had to withdraw money from retirement savings for survival.

“So it has affected the average pilgrim depositor in saving enough money for haj, "he said.