Saudi govt allows 1 million haj pilgrims this year
KUALA LUMPUR: The Hajj and Umrah Ministry of Saudi Arabia has announced that the number of pilgrims allowed for the haj season this year is limited to one million local and international pilgrims.
In an official statement shared on Twitter yesterday, it said the number of international pilgrims for this year would be based on the quota allocated to each country.
It said this year’s haj season was open to pilgrims under the age of 65 who had received Covid19 vaccines approved by the Saudi Health Ministry.
According to the statement, pilgrims from outside of Saudi Arabia were required to submit a negative Covid-19 PCR result from a test taken within 72 hours of travel.
The Hajj and Umrah Ministry also reminded pilgrims to adhere to health protocols while performing the pilgrimage.
Last year, Saudi Arabia allowed only 60,000 domestic pilgrims, including its nationals and foreigners who were in the country, to perform haj.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Idris Ahmad said the actual haj quota for Malaysia would be submitted by the Saudi Arabian government to Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) soon.
“Continue to pray, be patient and focus on performing Ramadan obligations.
“Pray hard that we can be Allah’s guests later,” he said in a post on Facebook yesterday.
Idris said an announcement on haj by Saudi Arabia was anticipated by Muslims who had been waiting patiently for two years to perform the pilgrimage, the fifth pillar of Islam.
TH was prepared to ensure a smooth pilgrimage for Malaysians and was waiting to get the quota for pilgrims, he added.