GEORGE TOWN: The decision on whether the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) will be given the role of regulating the fund management and investments of Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) lies with the government, said SC chairman Datuk Mohammad Faiz Azmi.

He said the matter was among the recommendations put forward in the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on TH and is now being reviewed by a task force involving the SC, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), and TH.

"If the government deems it appropriate, we will implement it. For the time being, there is a task force comprising the SC, BNM and TH to discuss the RCI's proposals, and we will implement any that are deemed reasonable.

"However, the decision is in the hands of the government. We are just following its orders," he told reporters after attending the SC Penang Semicon Roadshow "Powering SemiCons: Financing Your Next Breakthrough", here today.

He said the proposal for the SC to play a role in regulating TH's investments should also be considered, taking into account the size of the institution's investment portfolio.

Previously, the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Dr Zulkifli Hasan was reported to have said that the SC had been proposed to oversee the management of TH's funds and investments as part of efforts to strengthen the institution's oversight framework, following the RCI's recommendations on TH. - Bernama