HIGH-TECH E-TAGS TO KEEP TRACK OF HAJ PILGRIMS
Bluetooth tags are given to 6,000 Malaysians performing haj
TABUNG Haji (TH) has introduced a high-tech tag to keep track of the movements of Malaysian haj pilgrims in the Holy Land and ensure their safety, especially during the Masyair period, which will involve the movement of a massive number of people from Makkah to Arafah, Muzdalifah and Mina.
Called e-Lencana, it is among the first of its kind in the world, and is implemented as a pilot project this year among 6,000 pilgrims from two maktab staying at Abraj Al-Janadriyah, which is also the TH headquarters.
The tag, which optimises low emission bluetooth technology to track pilgrims, is developed by TH subsidiary Theta Edge Bhd.
TH head of the Malaysian 1439H haj delegation, Datuk Seri Syed Saleh Syed Abdul Rahman, said the target was to implement it for all pilgrims during next year’s haj season.
“The headcount of pilgrims will be collated at specific checkpoints using a mobile app called “Aplikasi Pengesan eLPH”, which can detect their identities within a 30m to 50m radius.
“We will track them upon their arrival at the airport to ensure they board the buses to their accommodation building. It will also record their arrival at the place they are staying.
“It will be used to see whether they have performed the umrah or minor haj, and attended the eight series of religious courses organised for them.”
He said it would flag those who did not return to their rooms and were, perhaps, interacting with negative elements outside that TH had cautioned them against.
“Most importantly, it will track the movement of pilgrims in Arafah during wukuf, the pinnacle of haj expected on Aug 20. With e-Lencana, we no longer have to keep track of pilgrims manually.
“If there is an emergency, we will know where they are,” he said at Abraj Al-Janadriyah.
Close to three million pilgrims will congregate in the Plain of Arafah to pray and seek forgiveness for their sins during wukuf.
He said TH managers and staff at the maktab would keep track of pilgrims using mobile phones and the data could also be seen on a dashboard at the operations information centre.
“The system is working well. We will monitor it during wukuf and improve it should there be any weaknesses,” he said, adding that it took Theta Edge Bhd two years to fine-tune the technology.
Pilgrims have also been told to keep safe two other important items given to them by TH — a steel bracelet and an identification tag.
The identification tag has a similar function as the pilgrims’ passport and is used for cash withdrawals at TH financial counters here.