400 B40 pilgrims who declined subsidy have helped Tabung Haji - Mohd Na'im

IPOH - Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar has praised the action of 400 pilgrims from the B40 category who declined the Haj subsidy this year despite being eligible to receive it.

He said their decision would help Tabung Haji (TH) with its finances, while providing an opportunity to other pilgrims in need to use the subsidy to perform the Haj.

"So this is the function that the TH is performing, which is to provide awareness and explanation to the Muslim community, especially to the TH depositors about principles or philosophies related to ability.

"This is what we are talking about, when they (B40) have the ability (to finance their Haj) and decline the subsidy, it means that it can be used by TH to help pilgrims who are more in need to perform this worship successfully," he said when met at a press conference after attending the Rahmah Madani Programme held at Dewan Putra SMK Bandar Baru Putra here, today.

He said that the determination of the target groups eligible to receive subsidies to perform the obligatory Haj was not done casually, but determined by the government with the help of relevant agencies.

"We collaborate with various parties including the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) to obtain data for each depositor whether they are from the B40, M40 or T20 category," he said.

Commenting on today’s programme, Dr Mohd Na'im said a total of RM200,555 was donated to 89 beneficiaries determined by the state authorities in the Tambun parliamentary constituency who were affected by the storm on Oct 2. - BERNAMA