Crisis in Gulf countries will not affect Malaysian haj pilgrims - Azeez

The crisis in the Gulf countries will not affect Malaysian pilgrims who will perform the haj in the holy land in September.

Tabung Haji (TH) chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim urged Malaysian pilgrims to follow instructions issued by TH from time to time to ensure their safety during their stay.

"The crisis involving Qatar (and several gulf states) does not affect the movement of our pilgrims. I appeal to the pilgrims to follow the instructions issued by Tabung Haji to guarantee their safety," he told reporters at Ziarah Kasih Ramadan al-Mubarak 2017 for Kota Bharu constituency at SK Sungai Mas, here, today.

The Saudi Arabian government had raised the quota for Malaysian pilgrims from 27,000 to 30,200 people in January.

Azeez said 480 TH personnel including doctors and nurses would be on duty during haj season with the first flight departing from Malaysia to the holy land on July 24 while the last flight would be on Aug 25.

Some 1,500 people from eligible groups (asnaf) received tithe from TH Foundation while 1,500 poor folks received RM100 each during the Ziarah Kasih Ramadan al-Mubarak event.

- BERNAMA