Malaysia’s former religious affairs minister Jamil Khir Baharom, who is also an UMNO supreme council member, at a party meeting in February. (Photo: Facebook/Jamil Khir Baharom)

Former Malaysian minister charged with misappropriation of US$211 million in haj pilgrimage funds

Jamil Khir Baharom pleaded not guilty to three charges at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on Monday (Sep 14). It involved payments to a Saudi real estate company between 2015 and 2017, during former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s administration.

14 Sep 2026, 09:14 · CNA · Join

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KUALA LUMPUR: A former Malaysian religious affairs minister was charged on Monday (Sep 14) with misappropriating over RM860.3 million (US$211.2 million) from the country’s haj pilgrimage fund, Tabung Haji.

Jamil Khir Baharom, 65, pleaded not guilty to three charges, which involve payments made to a Saudi real estate company between 2015 and 2017.

He served as the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for Religious Affairs from 2009 to 2018 under Najib Razak’s administration when the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) was in power.

This makes Jamil the second leader from Umno to be charged over the fund in as many weeks.

The charges were brought by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) at the the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court.

The Tabung Haji fund was established to help Malaysian Muslims save for the haj pilgrimage to Mecca and to manage pilgrims’ welfare.

The three charges involved Jamil allegedly causing Tabung Haji to dishonestly transfer the funds to Al Rawda Real Estate Development and Projects Management Co. Ltd, local media reported.

The first involved more than RM42.9 million on Apr 3, 2015, while the second involved more than RM288.1 million on Dec 14, 2016. The third involved more than RM529.1 million on Aug 17, 2017.

All three offences allegedly took place at Jamil’s office in Putrajaya.

The three charges were framed under Section 403 of the Penal Code, which carry a jail term of between six months and five years, caning and a fine upon conviction, according to a Malay Mail report.

The Sessions Court Judge Rosli Ahmad granted him bail of RM300,000 and for Jamil to surrender his passport to the court pending the conclusion of the case.

Jamil was represented by lawyer Hisham Teh Poh Teik, who sought a lower bail after the prosecution on Monday asked for it to be set at RM1 million.

Deputy public prosecutor Farah Ezlin Yusof Khan appeared for the prosecution.

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Jamil was arrested by the MACC on Sep 1, Malay Mail reported.

Following his arrest, Jamil was remanded for five days, with the period later extended by two days, as part of an investigation linked to a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into Tabung Haji.

The investigation reportedly involved decisions made during Jamil’s tenure, including the leasing of a Tabung Haji-linked hotel in Saudi Arabia, an issue raised by the RCI, according to a report by the New Straits Times.

In July, Jamil had said that decisions made during his time as minister were based on recommendations by the Tabung Haji’s board and followed the fund’s established procedures.

The 252-page report identified alleged political interference, governance failures and problematic investments that resulted in losses exceeding RM1 billion from 2014 to 2020, according to local media reports.

The RCI report was declassified and released to the public on Jul 29, about four years after the commission completed its inquiry in July 2022.

According to another Malay Mail report, Tabung Haji currently manages the savings of over 9.8 million depositors.

Jamil is the highest-ranking person charged in connection with the scandal.

Last week, former Tabung Haji chairman Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim pleaded not guilty to using his position to influence a decision to invest RM190 million in a company in which he is accused of having an interest, Malay Mail reported.

Azeez is a member of UMNO’s supreme council and was a former member of parliament for Baling district in Kedah state, Malaysia.

UMNO is part of the Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government, but ties between the party and the premier’s Pakatan Harapan coalition have come under the spotlight in recent months as both sides contested state polls in Johor and Negeri Sembilan separately.

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