RIYADH – The Saudi Arabian government has agreed to give Malaysia an additional 10,000 haj quota.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said he made the request during his audience with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is the kingdom’s deputy prime minister and defence minister, at the Al-Yamamah Palace here yesterday.
“When the haj situation returns to normal after the Covid-19 pandemic, we will get the additional quota for our pilgrims,” he told Malaysian media at the end of his four-day official visit to the kingdom.
Muhyiddin said the crown prince gave a positive answer and assurance to the request, as Saudi Arabia has always welcomed Malaysian pilgrims, who are known for being well-behaved, well-disciplined and less problematic.
He said Mecca and Medina are currently undergoing expansion works to cater to more pilgrims in future.
According to Tabung Haji’s website, the Saudi Arabian government has set the haj quota for every country at 0.1% of the total population, and the quota for Malaysia is currently at 31,600.
However, Muhyiddin said Malaysians need to be patient as only a very limited number of pilgrims is allowed to perform the fifth pillar of Islam last year due to the global pandemic.
He said there are other good news that came out of the meeting, as Malaysia and Saudi Arabia have formalised the Mecca Road Service initiative with the signing of a memorandum of understanding, which will ease and simplify the pre-clearance processes for Malaysian haj and umrah pilgrims.
These include airport arrangements, visa and passport checking, customs procedures and other logistical arrangements, he added.
“Malaysian pilgrims no longer need to wait for hours during immigration checks in the kingdom. They can go straight to their waiting buses.” – Bernama, March 10, 2021
