Be wary of travel agencies cheating clients to perform umrah - Hasan

The Domestic, Cooperative and Consumerism Minister Datuk Hasan Malek has advised the public to be wary of travel agencies offering umrah package only with the aim of making hefty profit.

He said such agencies would make unreasonable offers to their potential customers, who would probably suffer delayed flights and visa problems later.

"This (cheating) activity is becoming rampant. They (agencies) are willing to cheat almost anybody, including their own friends, to make hefty profit."

He said this to reporters after launching the e-Umrah, a new product by Uniutama Managements Holdings Sdn Bhd (UMHSB), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM).

Hasan said, last year alone, the ministry was deluged with public complaints concerning such activities involving four agencies in Selangor, Melaka and Kelantan.

Meanwhile, UMHSB chairman Datuk Afifuddin Omar said the product was targeting civil servants and staff of government-linked companies who would be allowed to make salary cut under the e-Umrah saving scheme to perform umrah.

The product was jointly developed by UMHSB and Koperasi Kakitangan Uniutama Holdings Kedah Berhad (KKUHKB).