Why the ‘one-size-fits-all’ subsidy structure of Tabung Haji no longer works and how to move forward
The original, novel idea behind Tabung Haji’s establishment was to help Malaysian Muslims save for hajj. However, throughout the years, the subsidy amount for hajj pilgrims has proven to be ever-increasing. As a case in point, for the 2020 hajj season, a first-time hajj pilgrim needs only pay RM9...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS) Malaysia
2021
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/91030/7/91030_Why%20the%20%E2%80%98one-size-fits-all%E2%80%99%20subsidy%20structure%20of%20Tabung%20Haji.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/91030/ https://icrjournal.org/index.php/icr/article/view/827/801 https://doi.org/10.52282/icr.v12i1.827 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | The original, novel idea behind Tabung Haji’s establishment was
to help Malaysian Muslims save for hajj. However, throughout the years, the
subsidy amount for hajj pilgrims has proven to be ever-increasing. As a case in
point, for the 2020 hajj season, a first-time hajj pilgrim needs only pay RM9980
out of RM22,900 of the original costs. Stated differently, Tabung Haji subsidises
more than half (56.42 per cent) of the total cost. As with any subsidy, the
main question is, where do we find the money? For instance, the governments
of Muslim majority nations such as Pakistan and Indonesia used to directly
subsidise their hajj pilgrims but have recently stopped doing so. Moreover,
Tabung Haji is a business entity, which understandably needs to generate profit
that will then be used to subsidise hajj pilgrims. Consequently, this paper aims
to examine the (un)sustainability of the existing subsidy structure and suggest
a way forward. Due to its politically sensitive nature, instead of eliminating
the subsidy, the authors used data from the Household and Basic Amenities
Survey 2019 to mathematically simulate a regressive subsidy structure for firsttime hajj pilgrims. |
|---|