PATROL TEAM ENSURES SAFE TRAVEL
Team members responsible for managing movement of pilgrims
MANY people work behind the scenes to ensure that Malaysian pilgrims perform the fifth pillar of Islam comfortably.
The members of Tabung Haji’s (TH) Highway Emergency Patrol Team are among the unsung heroes.
They are on standby 24 hours a day, seven days a week and spend many hours under the sweltering heat in rest areas and highways to ensure that pilgrims in buses reach their destinations from airports and hotels safely.
TH Jeddah operations director Mohamad Zamry Mohd Noor said the patrol team was responsible for managing the movement of pilgrims from when they first arrive at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah to Makkah, or from Madinah to Makkah.
Jeddah and Madinah are the two entry points into Saudi Arabia for Malaysian pilgrims.
“Our call centre monitors the movement of these buses.
“Any delays or breakdowns are reported to our hotline and we will despatch a team to assist. We can also ask for replacement buses when necessary.
“The team will swing into action when there are ill pilgrims on buses. The patrol team, which comprises six people, moves around in GMC sports utility vehicles and is assigned to the Jeddah-Makkah and Madinah-Makkah routes.
“The team has the Bravo walkie-talkie system and mobile phones.
“Members of the team are experienced and strong willed. It is not easy to be stationed out in the desert.”
Zamry said the team had with them food packs, comprising bread, cakes, fruit and drinks, in case stranded pilgrims needed refreshment.
The team has ensured 648 buses — 364 from Madinah to Makkah, 282 from Jeddah to Makkah and two from Jeddah to Madinah — arrived safely at their destinations.
The journey from the Jeddah airport to Makkah takes two to three hours (a distance of 97km), while the journey from Madinah to Makkah is a seven- to eight-hour drive (424km).
Pilgrims traditionally visit Madinah to pray at the Prophet’s Mosque, or Masjid Nabawi, either before they begin the haj rituals or once they have completed them.
Aside from the flights to Madinah, there are 47 flights from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Jeddah, with pilgrims heading straight for Makkah from there. The last flight to Jeddah is on Aug 16.
TH Highway Emergency Call Centre manager Shafie Sharif said the team would have to monitor 893 buses this haj season.
He said no major issues had been reported other than four bus breakdowns from Madinah to Makkah.
“The breakdowns comprise only 0.62 per cent of the total number of buses this season.
“There was also one elderly pilgrim we had to help as she was travelling alone.”
He said the rest stops for buses were selected based on how new the adjacent mosques were and the number of toilets.
He said when the haj season moved into the second phase, the teams would focus on the transport of pilgrims between Makkah and Arafah.