Kuala lumpur: Bank Negara Malaysia Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) emphasised that the advice it provided to the Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) was part of its financial stability mandate under the Central Bank of Malaysia Act 2009.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the central bank stated its role concerning TH originated from its mandate to monitor and identify risks to overall financial stability. This responsibility includes overseeing major non-bank financial institutions that possess significant interconnections with the financial system.

The implementation of this mandate is facilitated by the Financial Stability Executive Committee (FSEC) established under the Central Bank of Malaysia Act 2009. BNM clarified that based on its surveillance, both BNM and FSEC are positioned to occasionally offer advice to significant non-bank financial institutions. This includes advice to TH, amidst the ongoing Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the pilgrimage fund.

BNM highlighted that although TH is not directly under its supervision, it may still provide advisory support to TH's Board of Directors and the Minister responsible for the entity. This is considered a precautionary measure to ensure TH's financial position remains robust and to avert any potential systemic repercussions for the nation's financial system.

In the past, BNM had issued five warning letters to the TH chairman and the Minister of Religious Affairs concerning the gap between TH's assets and liabilities. These warnings were subsequently followed by a reprimand from the Auditor-General in the 2017 Financial Statements Report.

The government announced the establishment of the RCI in 2021, which led to the appointment of its members on January 20, 2022. The findings of the report were later presented to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on August 30, 2022.