…………..to reduce the waiting period from 130 years to 33 years.
What a proposal!!!
Even with the minimum haj registration deposit from RM1,300, abuses by politicians and the senior management happened at Tabung Haji.
What more if the minimum haj registration deposit is increased to RM12,980 that will result in a greater sum in Tabung Haji?
Yes, the proposal by the Commission aims to lower the estimated queue time drastically from 130 years down to 33 years.
This proposal appears to be using monetary measures to assist Muslims performing hajj.
Isn’t this contrary to the objectives of why and what Royal Professor Ungku Abdul Aziz proposed and set up the foundation for Tabung Haji in 1959?
Royal Professor Ungku Abdul Aziz was worried that rural Malay Muslims were falling deeper into poverty after selling essential lifelong assets like land and livestock just to fund their Hajj pilgrimage.
Rural families sold paddy fields, orchards, and cattle to pay for travel to Mecca.
Families returned home with empty savings and paralyzed family economies, worsening rural poverty.
Increasing the minimum registration deposit is a lazy way solution to mitigate increasing costs.
A fast, low-risk mechanism to counter immediate inflation compared to complex operational overhaul.
It is basic cost-pass-through pricing rather than structural innovation to how Tabung Haji should be helping the many poor Muslims to fulfil their obligations.
A solution which every kopitiam used and applied when there is a cost increase in sugar or diesel and the price for a cup of kopi o will go up 10 sen.
These kopitiam owners have no incentives or have the expertise to think outside the box on how to retain and increase the footfall to their shops in the face of increase in their costs.
They know that despite the 10 sen increase, their regular customers will still continue to patronise their shops.
Probably they will suffer a drop in business for the 1st few weeks but once the customers get accustomed to the new price, they will come back.
Those who are entrusted with safeguarding and managing Tabung Haji should think of value bundling and streamlined their processes to reduce costs than taking the lazy way to mitigate costs increases and pass it through to the depositors.
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