First group of Malaysian pilgrims arrive in Madinah

The first group of 483 Malaysian pilgrims for this year's haj arrived at the Prince Mohamad Bin Abdulaziz International Airport here at about 9.30am local time (2.30pm Malaysia time) on Monday.

Their arrival at the Anwar Al Madinah Movenpick Hotel at about 1pm (6pm Malaysian time) were greeted by Malaysian High Commissioner to Saudi Arabia Datuk Zainol Rahim Zainuddin, the Malaysian haj delegation deputy head, Nurrinanuwar Shamsuddin and haj consul Mohammad Saimi Mat Som.

The pilgrims departed from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang at 5.30am Malaysian time on Monday.

A total of 30,200 Malaysian pilgrims will perform haj this year, and they are scheduled to arrive in Madinah and Makkah in stages beginning today.

Meanwhile, Zainol Rahim hoped the Malaysian pilgrims to stay healthy and able to perform their haj well.

- BERNAMA