Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) lauds the government’s efforts led by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in successfully securing an additional 10,000 places in the country’s haj quota during his official visit to Saudi Arabia which ended on Tuesday.
In a statement, TH said the increase in quota will enable more Malaysians to perform the pilgrimage while shortening the waiting period.
“TH will be making thorough preparations covering various aspects here and in the Holy Land to ensure a smooth implementation so that Muslims in Malaysia can fulfil their duties in performing the fifth pillar of Islam,” it said today.
Yesterday, Malaysia was granted additional spots in its haj quota by Saudi Arabia, to be implemented after Covid-19 is under control and haj operations resume.
The matter was agreed upon during Muhyiddin’s meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Al Yamamah Palace.
Around 3.6 million Malaysian haj pilgrims have been registered with TH to perform the pilgrimage. It is a well-known fact that some Malaysian Muslims, even after registering under TH, could wait as long as 130 years for their turn to perform the haj.
According to the TH website, the Saudi government fixes its haj quota to 0.1 per cent of a country’s population for member states under the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
At the moment, Malaysia’s official haj quota is 31,600 people.
Saudi Arabia has yet to make any decision to allow the haj this year, including any set number for the pilgrimage.
However, it has come up with the standard operating procedures (SOP) for the haj and umrah.
Earlier this month, the kingdom’s Health Minister Dr Tawfiq al-Rabiah said pilgrims must be vaccinated for Covid-19 to perform the haj.
Annually, over two million Muslims from around the world will perform the haj, which is held during the month of Zulhijjah.
Last year, Saudi Arabia limited the pilgrimage to only 1,000 Muslims amidst the pandemic.
SOURCE: NST
