'No flights tickets, no visa' say disappointed umrah pilgrims after paying RM95,000
PUTRAJAYA - Families of pilgrims has shared disappointment after an umrah and travel agency failed to fly them to Saudi.
Ahmad Saifulrizan Mohd Puad told Sinar that his ten family members were scheduled to take off to middle east today.
"We were not given a clear explanation of the delayed flight til now," he said, adding that the umrah costs of RM9,000 and RM500 school holiday surcharge for each family member.
"We are disappointed when such things happen especially after spending so much (to perform umrah)," he added.
Saifulrizan said they were further disappointed as they rented a home in Sepang to ease their travel to perform their pilgrimage.
"We came here immediately from Kuantan for an explanation from the management," he said.
The Pahang resident added the management told them the cost of hotels in saudi have gone up. This is when Saifulrizan demanded for his refund of RM95,000 immediately.
"Forget the visa, there wasn't even a ticket," he said.
Another member, a government officer who did not want to be identified said he was reluctant to break the bad news to his mother.
"My mother cried when I told her I was bringing her to perform umrah.
"I don't know how do I tell my mother who had high hopes about this journey," he said.
Norul Faizah Abdul Rahim said she and her husband are yet to tell their parents about the issue.
Her umrah trip consisting of 10 family members have been delayed for four times in total.
Faizah said the officer simply turned a blind eye towards the issue when asked by the family.
"We were informed our flight was available but there were no flights," she said.
The company representative said they will release a statement soon.
The Malaysian Umrah & Haj Travel Agencies Association (Papuh) president Datuk Seri Razali Mohd Sham was reported revealing the price hikes for packages were due to hidden hands or cartel and big companies monopolising flight tickets for umrah and haj.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Communication remanded seven individuals including a travel company's director and staff under the suspicion of being involved in a corruption syndicate distributing umrah flight ticket quotas worth RM10.8 million.
