KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 — Lembaga Tabung Haji (LTH) CEO Tan Sri Ismee Ismail has acknowledged that depositors withdrew money from the Muslim pilgrimage fund because of a lack of confidence after its controversial land purchase from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Ismee told local Malay daily Berita Harian that the average amount deposited in the fund for this month has dropped to RM40 million, compared to the RM71 million monthly average from January to April this year.

“There are also some who took out their savings, saying that they were disappointed or didn’t have confidence,” Ismee said in the interview published today.

“We monitor, we’re honest and we don’t want to say that nobody took their deposits out when this issue came out into the open. To me, it’s the depositors’ right. TH savings are voluntary, but for me, people don’t need to worry because they’re guaranteed by the government,” he added.

LTH sparked controversy recently when it bought a 1.56-acre plot of land in the Tun Razak Exchange from debt-laden 1MDB for RM188.5 million, 43 times higher than what the state investment fund had purchased it for from the government.

Critics have described the deal as a bailout for 1MDB, which has reportedly accumulated some RM42 billion in debt.

LTH chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, however, reportedly said on May 9 that the land will be sold in a week, claiming that the pilgrimage fund has received three offers and that the sale will generate a profit of at least RM5 million. LTH has yet to reveal if the land has been sold.

Ismee told Berita Harian that a deal cannot be termed a “bailout” if both buyer and seller profit from it, without specifying if he was referring to the land purchase from 1MDB.

“Generally, a bailout is when we give. For example, if we find a beggar on the street and we give them a packet of nasi lemak, then it’s called a bailout. But if they pay me the price of the nasi lemak, then it’s not a bailout,” he said.

“To me, a bailout is if one party wins and the other party doesn’t win as much,” he added.

The LTH chief pointed out that the deposits have increased to RM57 billion, growing more than four times in size from RM13.3 billion when he first took the post in 2006.

“TH profits since 10 years ago have also hit RM15 billion. That is the extra value that we give to TH depositors. The increase of about RM43 billion in deposits, RM15 billion of it is from the profits of TH’s investments and businesses. RM28 billion is from the addition of deposits in TH,” said Ismee.

He also defended LTH’s investments in buildings here and overseas, in response to calls for the fund to return to its original objective of enabling Malaysian Muslims to build up their savings so that they can perform the haj that is estimated to cost at least RM19,000 per trip.

“We as individuals cannot afford to buy buildings, but the money that we collect in TH can enable us to do so. That’s why we can buy buildings here and overseas,” said Ismee.