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Joseph Sipalan

A former Malaysian minister overseeing religious affairs will be charged with corruption next week, the country’s anti-corruption agency has said, as authorities close in on once-powerful figures believed to have stolen from the nation’s haj pilgrim fund.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) confirmed on Thursday that Jamil Khir Baharom – who served as religious affairs minister under disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak – would face three charges on Monday for misappropriation of assets linked to the multibillion-dollar Tabung Haji fund.
The charges relate to alleged dubious dealings involving the leasing of hotels in Saudi Arabia, which manages access to Mecca where millions of Muslims from around the world gather annually for the haj pilgrimage.
“This proves our commitment in handling corruption, leakages and abuse of power,” MACC chief commissioner Abdul Halim Aman told reporters at a media briefing.
“We conduct our probes regardless of an individual’s background or affiliation.”
Jamil was arrested and remanded earlier this month after the MACC launched a crackdown following the release in July of a royal commission of inquiry report into alleged corruption and misappropriation at the fund. If found guilty, he faces up to five years in prison.

Jamil would be the highest-ranking person charged in connection with the scandal. His prosecution follows that of former Tabung Haji chairman Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, who pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to abusing his position to secure a lucrative corporate post and influence a 193.5 million ringgit (US$47.6 million) investment by the fund.
Abdul Azeez faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of at least five times the value of the bribes if found guilty.
MACC chief Abdul Halim said they were investigating at least five more cases linked to Tabung Haji involving entities in Saudi Arabia and Singapore.
“This will take a bit more time to get the documentation and cooperation from overseas parties … investigations are still ongoing,” Abdul Halim said.
Tabung Haji, set up to help Malaysian Muslims save for the pilgrimage to Mecca, held 93.4 billion ringgit in savings deposited by 9.7 million Muslim account holders at the end of 2025.

The royal commission report highlighted more than a dozen questionable investment decisions made between 2014 and 2020 – spanning Najib’s Barisan Nasional administration and successive governments following its historic 2018 election defeat.
The inquiry identified political interference, governance failures and problematic investments that resulted in losses exceeding 1 billion ringgit over that period.
The report’s release came after a landslide victory for Najib’s party, the United Malays National Organisation, in the Johor state election in mid-July and ahead of their win over Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan coalition in the Negeri Sembilan state polls a month later.


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Ex-religious affairs minister Jamil Khir Baharom is the highest-ranking figure to be implicated in the Tabung Haji scandal


Ex-religious affairs minister Jamil Khir Baharom is the highest-ranking figure to be implicated in the Tabung Haji scandal.


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Malaysia to charge former minister over haj fund corruption

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Ex-religious affairs minister Jamil Khir Baharom is the highest-ranking figure to be implicated in the Tabung Haji scandal

Ex-religious affairs minister Jamil Khir Baharom is the highest-ranking figure to be implicated in the Tabung Haji scandal