TH ready with accommodation for 30,200 haj pilgrims

The Haj Fund Board (TH) has made preparations, especially in terms of accommodation for the arrival of 30,200 pilgrims who will perform Haj beginning July.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom stressed on the need to improve accommodations following permission secured to add another 7,880 pilgrims from the usual Haj quota of 22,320 previously allocated by the Saudi Arabian government.

"Thus, TH has prepared 23 lodgings in Makkah and 11 in Madinah which is 950 metres away from the Masjidil Haram (Grand Mosque) and 330 metres from Masjid Nabawi," he said during a press conference on a site visit carried out to observe preparations made by TH, following his arrival from Saudi Arabia, at the KL International Airport (KLIA) here Monday.

According to Jamil Khir, the departure of the first pilgrimage flight is scheduled on July 24, while the last flight, which is on Aug 25, is available at eight main airports, namely, KLIA, Sepang; Alor Star, Kedah; Bayan Lepas, Penang; Senai, Johor; Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu; Kota Bharu, Kelantan; Kota Kinabalu, Sabah and Kuching, Sarawak.

He said, the Malaysian pilgrims were scheduled to return home beginning from Sept 7 - a week after performing the Wukuf ritual (congregate on the Arafah plain), and the last flight from Saudi Arabia was expected to arrive on Oct 4.

Commenting on security matters related to the diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Jamil Khir said that they kept track of its developments and had obtained information on security measures that needed to be taken by pilgrims from the Saudi Arabia government and Malaysian Embassy in that country.

"Pilgrims are not to worry as the Saudi Arabia authorities have assured of the safety of the pilgrims. However, the pilgrims are advised to not be involved in gatherings or meetings that have not been instructed by the Malaysian government or TH as these actions are monitored," he said.

Meanwhile, Jamil Khir said he and the TH senior management were in the final stage of discussion with two property developers in Makkah and Madinah for plans to develop an integrated accommodation complex that could house up to 35,000 Malaysian pilgrims in the future.

-- BERNAMA