He said the government did not have to provide haj subsidies to pilgrims other than from the B40 low-income group as the others were able to bear the costs on their own.

“If we factor in the cost increase, tax hikes and new service charges introduced by the Saudi Arabian government, the cost for a muassasah pilgrim is expected to go up to RM25,000.

“If the payment to perform haj remains at RM9,980 per pilgrim, the total amount of subsidies given will reach RM15,020 for each pilgrim, which is a huge amount,” Zakaria said in a statement.

He said a targeted subsidy system would help the government and Lembaga Tabung Haji to reduce the impact the subsidies will have on the pilgrims’ savings fund.

On Friday, religious affairs minister Idris Ahmad gave the assurance that the government would continue providing subsidies for the haj pilgrims for this year.

He said the subsidy for this year’s haj pilgrimage would be decided after the haj quota for the country had been finalised.

Idris said he would discuss with Tabung Haji the cost of performing the pilgrimage for muassasah haj pilgrims before presenting it to the Cabinet which would make the final decision on the matter.