First batch of Malaysian haj pilgrims to arrive in Saudi Arabia, on Sunday

SEPANG - The first group of Malaysian haj pilgrims comprising 295 individuals is expected to arrive at the Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah at 4.55pm (Saudi time), tomorrow (Sunday).

They will be departing from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), here, via Saudi Airlines flight SV 5635 which was scheduled to take off at 1.35pm, today.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob who met the group at the Movenpick Convention Centre, here, before they depart, gave them well wishes.

"As Keluarga Malaysia, I hope pilgrims who are performing the fifth Pillar of Islam will pray for Malaysia to always be successful, festive, peaceful, rich with economic prosperity and for the welfare of the people," he said.

Also present were Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Idris Ahmad and Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Amrin Awaluddin.

Idris advised pilgrims to protect themselves from Covid-19 by taking necessary precautions and to always adhere to the health standard operating procedures (SOPs) while performing their haj at the Holy Land.

Meanwhile, Amrin said TH was grateful to the Saudi Arabian government that agreed to continue the Makkah Route project to facilitate the entry process of Malaysians to the Holy Land for the pilgrimage without having to go through the time-consuming procedure upon arrival at the country's airport.

“Malaysian pilgrims no longer need to go through the immigration process upon arrival at Saudi Arabia and can take a bus directly to their respective accommodations and this will save time.

"Alhamdulillah, the haj operation this year went smoothly although this year. Although things are quite different because of the Covid-19 pandemic, it went according to the plan," Amrin added.

This year, a total of 48 Malaysia Airlines and Saudi Airlines flights will bring 14,306 national pilgrims to the Holy Land to perform haj.