JOHOR BARU – All the places vacated by those offered by Tabung Haji (TH) to perform the haj pilgrimage this year, due to various factors including health, have been taken up, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Senator Datuk Idris Ahmad.
He said priority to fill the vacancies, which number more than 1,000, was given to those who had been listed to perform the haj in 2020 and 2021.
“The list of prospective pilgrims is updated every day. If there is a vacancy, those at the top of the waiting list will be given priority.
“For the first stage, 1,000 people have declined the offer, and the vacancies have all been filled up,” he told reporters after the pre-launch of the national-level 2022 Quran Recitation and Memorisation by Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi at the Iskandar Johor Islamic Centre here today.
A total of 14,306 Malaysians will perform the haj pilgrimage this year with the first flight to the holy land to leave on June 4.
For this year’s haj pilgrimage, only those aged 65 and below with no chronic diseases and who possess the Covid-19 vaccination certificate are eligible. They are also required to submit a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR test performed within 72 hours of the time of their departure to Saudi Arabia. – Bernama, May 26, 2022