MOTAC: Only 10 pct of umrah tickets sold to Indonesians

MOTAC said 90 per cent of the ticket capacity has been offered to Malaysian prospective pilgrims, and is seen as sufficient to be booked by local umrah management agencies licensed by MOTAC.

"The allegation that there is a monopoly for certain companies, and advantages are given to the Indonesian pilgrims, is not true at all," it said in a statement today.

Recently there have been allegations that there were umrah agencies monopolising the purchase of flight tickets in bulk, and selling most of the umrah flight tickets to pilgrims in a neighbouring country.

There were also claims that such a situation was one of the causes of difficulties in obtaining flight tickets to perform the umrah pilgrimage (among Malaysians), and indirectly caused the cost of umrah packages to increase.

Taking note of the issue, MOTAC said that it held a meeting chaired by Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan, and attended by representatives from relevant ministries, including the association of tour operators licensed by MOTAC, on Tuesday (Jan 31).

It said the meeting decided that Amal By Malaysia Airlines should re-examine the uniformity of umrah flight ticket distribution, to ensure that all local umrah operator companies licensed by MOTAC get equal opportunities.

"This step also aims to directly benefit the public wanting to perform the umrah pilgrimage," it added.