M'sian pilgrims hold special prayers for Malaysia Day

Malaysian pilgrims and Tabung Haji staff staying at all the 12 Tabung Haji hotels in Makkah and Madinah held special prayers on Monday night in conjunction with Malaysia Day on Tuesday.

Head of the Malaysian Haj delegation, Datuk Syed Saleh Syed Abdul Rahman, said the pilgrims and staff prayed for Malaysia to remain peaceful and progressive and for its leaders to successfully discharge their responsibility of developing the country.

The prayers were held after the Maghrib prayers, he told reporters prior to attending the prayers at the Abraj Al Janadiriyyah Hotel here.

Syed Saleh said 14,688 pilgrims or more than 65 per cent of the total 22,320 pilgrims from Malaysia had arrived in the Holy Land. Some 11,224 of the pilgrims were in Makkah and the rest in Madinah.

Two more Tabung Haji chartered flights arrived from Malaysia at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah on Monday, bearing 450 and 279 pilgrims from Kuala Lumpur and Kuala Terengganu, respectively.