Kuala lumpur: The Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on Tabung Haji has recommended recovering RM2.19 million in bonuses paid to board members and management of TH Properties, as the bonuses were awarded without complying with prescribed regulations.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the RCI's report on Tabung Haji released today reveals that the commission examined documents and meeting minutes related to bonus payments to TH Properties board members and certain employees. The bonuses in question were justified based on the financial contributions of property development projects in Australia, particularly 'The Bay Pavilion', to TH Properties in 2016 and 2017.

The report highlighted that selected individuals received special bonuses amounting to RM1,148,400 in 2017 and RM1.045 million in 2018. Additionally, it was found that Lembaga Tabung Haji (LTH) employees received high bonuses over several years.

The commission's review showed that LTH employees were awarded excessively high bonuses from 2010 to 2017, with amounts ranging from two to thirteen months' salary, including both annual and special bonuses. Typically, LTH management and board would propose bonus allocations to the ministers in charge of Religious Affairs and the Finance Ministries.

In 2014, extraordinary bonuses were proposed, ranging from one to eleven months' salary as annual bonuses, plus an additional two months' salary as a special bonus. This involved a total allocation of RM74 million and resulted in payouts as much as thirteen months' salary, despite the financial difficulties faced by LTH from 2014 to 2017.

The commission concluded that the practice of awarding excessively high bonuses was unjustified, given the financial strain on LTH during the period when the value of its assets was less than its liabilities, as reported in its annual financial statements and recognized by the National Audit Department. Consequently, the RCI recommended discontinuing such practices.