Tabung Haji (TH) Malaysia, has commended the government’s efforts led by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in successfully securing an additional 10,000 places in the country’s hajj quota during his official visit to Saudi Arabia which ended on Tuesday.
In a statement, TH said the increase in quota will enable more Malaysians to perform the pilgrimage while shortening the waiting period. “TH will be making thorough preparations covering various aspects here and in the Holy Land to ensure a smooth implementation so that Muslims in Malaysia can fulfil their duties in performing the fifth pillar of Islam,” it said today.
Yesterday, Malaysia was granted additional spots in its haj quota by Saudi Arabia, to be implemented after Covid-19 is under control and haj operations resume. The matter was agreed upon during Muhyiddin’s meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Al Yamamah Palace.
Muhyiddin on his Twitter handle said:
“Alhamdulillah, before leaving for Abu Dhabi last night, I was received before His Majesty the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman, at the Al-Yamamah Palace, Riyadh, to discuss bilateral relations between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.
“The meeting which lasted for 1 hour and 30 minutes touched on various aspects including the formation of the Saudi-Malaysia Coordinating Council, hajj quotas as well as the implementation of hajj and umrah in pandemic situations in the future,” the Malaysian leader said.
Around 3.6 million Malaysian hajj pilgrims have been registered with TH to perform the pilgrimage. It is a well-known fact that some Malaysian Muslims, even after registering under TH, could wait as long as 130 years for their turn to perform the hajj. According to the TH website, the Saudi government fixes its haj quota to 0.1 per cent of a country’s population for member states under the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
At the moment, Malaysia’s official hajj quota is 31,600 people. Saudi Arabia has yet to make any decision to allow the hajj this year, including any set number for the pilgrimage. However, it has come up with the standard operating procedures (SOP) for the hajj and umrah. Earlier this month, the kingdom’s Health Minister Dr Tawfiq al-Rabiah said pilgrims must be vaccinated for Covid-19 to perform the hajj.
Over two million Muslims from around the world will perform the haj, which is held during the month of Zulhijjah. Last year, Saudi Arabia limited the pilgrimage to only 1,000 Muslims amidst the pandemic.
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