Haj pilgrims advised to focus on worship, not listen to rumours

Malaysian Haj pilgrims are advised to focus on their religious obligations while in the Holy Land, and not to believe any rumour that could cause them as well as their families back home feeling uneasy.

Malaysian Haj delegation head, Datuk Syed Saleh Syed Abdul Rahman said if they had any doubt or concern, they should obtain verification from Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH).

"Tabung Haji is always monitoring the developments on any matter of concern through the social websites so as to avoid affecting the concentration of pilgrims performing their religious duties," he said, after welcoming a group of pilgrims on flight KT26 who had arrived in Jeddah and taken to their hostel, here, on Saturday.

The arrival of the 473 pilgrims wth 16 accompanying TH staff, brings the number of Malaysian pilgrims who have arrived in the Holy Land, to 11,934 thus far.

Two days ago, a pro-opposition news portal reported that the Malaysian ringgit was not accepted in Saudi Arabia due to the fall in the value of the ringgit, but the claim was refuted by Minister in the

Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom.

Instead, Jamil Khir said, Malaysian pilgrims did not at all face the problem when exchanging currency while TH had set up counters for money withdrawals based on the Saudi riyal exchange rate.

Syed Saleh confirmed that there was no such problem while the money exchange outlets in the Holy Land also accepted the Malaysian ringgit, hence the pilgrims and their families should not worry about the claim as it was not true.

He also advised the pilgrims to pay attention to the safety aspect by, for example, not taking part in any gathering or rally, and to take care of their belongings.

He noted that generally, the Malaysian pilgrims were in good health except for a few who were having fever, cough or cold.

"The pilgrims are taking care of their health as advised by TH in view of the weather condition, with temperatures reaching 44 degrees Celsius," he said.