PETALING JAYA: Despite the proposal to make Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) a “prescribed Islamic financial institution”, depositors will still be protected, says the Finance Minister.

       Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said the status quo would remain the same for depositors.

       “In other words, depositors will continue to enjoy the government’s assurance as stated under the Tabung Haji Act 1995.

       “All investment activities carried out by TH will need to be syariah- compliant, and investment assessments will be conducted via a detailed and transparent process as practised by other institutional funds.

       “This will be done through the creation of an investment panel, which will be headed by experts in the investment and financial fields,” he said in a statement yesterday.

       Tengku Zafrul added that regulation by Bank Negara was an important component in strengthening TH as a resilient Islamic institution within the country’s financial ecosystem.

       The proposed regulatory framework for TH by Bank Negara would be “fit-for-purpose regulation”, he said.

       “The check-and-balance approach has already been done in other industries and capital markets.

       “In the syariah context, Bank Negara has a syariah advisory council headed by syariah scholars and individuals with international experience and knowledge,” Tengku Zafrul added.

       Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had announced that a Royal Commission of Inquiry would be set up to investigate issues related to TH that arose from audits carried out on the board.