SHAH ALAM, Jan 30 — A staggering half of Malaysians offered spots for the haj season last year chose to defer their pilgrimage, with around 10 per cent citing insufficient savings as the main reason, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Zulkifli Hasan.
He said Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) has been encouraging Muslims to prepare financially and understand the concept of istito’ah — the financial and physical ability to perform the haj.
“Based on data from the 1446H/2025M haj season, nearly 50 per cent of all haj offer recipients deferred their offers for various reasons,” the senator said in a written parliamentary reply yesterday.
He was responding to a question by Datuk Ahmad Marzuk Shaary (PN-Pengkalan Chepa) on how many haj offer recipients for the 1446H/2025M season rejected or deferred their offers due to insufficient savings.
Zulkifli said proactive measures, including early reminders through social media, the THiJARI app, SMS and emails were sent to pilgrims scheduled for the upcoming 1447H/2026M season to allow them more time to prepare.
“For the 1447H/2026M season, data showed a significant drop in haj offer rejections, with only 18 per cent of recipients having declined, compared with 50 per cent the previous season.”
He said targeted financial aid for B40 and M40 groups will also continue, including reduced haj payments and an additional RM1,000 aid from the federal government for pilgrims from low-income households.
