Tabung Haji to ‘go on aiding needy’
KOTA BARU: Tabung Haji will continue to help the needy through tithes collected despite being accused of being bankrupt by certain quarters.
Its chairman, Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, said the allegation would not stop Tabung Haji from playing its role as it had always done.
“This aid is a continuous gesture from the government to help the needy. The government, especially Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, is honest and not selective in distributing aid.
“It has been his (Najib’s) wish that the people are happy, especially during Hari Raya Aidilfitri,” he said before presenting aid to more than 1,000 recipients in the Chempaka constituency here yesterday.
The Ziarah Kasih Ramadan Al-Mubarak 2017 programme was held in Pengkalan Chepa.
Azeez said the fund was part of the RM52 million tithes collected last year.
“Tabung Haji has decided to hold the event at 67 places nationwide and Pengkalan Chepa is the 60th venue to host the Ziarah Kasih Ramadan.
“About RM300,000 was allocated for the programme, of which RM150,000 was from Yayasan Tabung Haji and the rest from the prime minister.”
Azeez later visited Kelantan Poverty Foundation in Ketereh, where he presented tithes to some 2,000 asnaf (eligible recipients) and undergraduates before going to Jeli for a similar function.
One of the recipients in Pengkalan Chepa, Abdul Rahman Ismail, 74, of Kampung Badang, said he would use the money for Hari Raya.
“I rely on my children for daily expenses and will use the money to buy myself a pair of new shoes,” said the father of six, who was a former security guard.