No favouritism in selection of pilgrims for Haj - TH

Tabung Haji (TH) does not practice favouritism in the selection of pilgrims to perform the Haj but instead places are offered according to their turn in the system and the quota set by the Saudi Arabian government.

TH board Senior general manager Datuk Syed Saleh Syed Abdul Rahman said the public's failure to understand the Haj process and procedures has led to many false perception about the agency.

"At present, there are 2.16 million who are registered with TH to perform the Haj while the number of depositors is 8.9 million and this has resulted in a very long waiting period.

"If you register for Haj now, the waiting period is 87 years. Then, there is a quota system which is controlled by the Saudi Arabian government and currently set as 27,900 pilgrims for Haj from Malaysia," he said in a press conference at his office here Thursday.

Syed Saleh said to date, more than 73,000 appeals had been made to perform the Haj this year, and it was difficult to meet the quota based on last year's allocation of only 22,320 people.