LEMBAGA Tabung Haji (TH) paid out high staff bonuses and incentives to certain subsidiary board members despite being in a financially strained position, according to a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report.
The report found that between 2010 and 2017, TH employees received annual bonuses ranging from two to 13 months’ salary.
However, the commission said the payments were difficult to justify, particularly between 2014 and 2017 when TH’s liabilities exceeded its assets based on figures reported in its annual financial statements and acknowledged by the National Audit Department.
“Given LTH’s financial difficulties from 2014 to 2017, when its assets were lower than its liabilities as reported in its annual financial statements and acknowledged by the National Audit Department, the payment of high bonuses by LTH was unjustified,” the report said.
In 2014 alone, TH set aside RM74 million for bonuses, including a special two-month bonus on top of an 11-month annual performance bonus.
The RCI noted that a financial review by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) showed TH had already been in a deficit position when two of its largest bonus provisions were made in 2014 and 2015.
The review also found that the financial difficulties had existed for several years before that period.
The report also raised concerns over bonus payments made at TH’s wholly owned subsidiary, TH Properties Sdn Bhd.
It found that special appreciation bonuses amounting to RM1.15 million in 2017 and RM1.05 million in 2018 were paid to certain board members and officers.
The RCI agreed with previous legal findings that the payments breached the Companies Act 2016, as they were approved by an executive committee that did not have the authority to do so and without obtaining the required shareholder approvals.
The commission said the payments reflected weaknesses in governance and oversight within the institution and its subsidiaries. - July 30, 2026
