Cost of performing haj will remain reasonable despite anticipated rise

MELAKA: Companies holding the Tabung Haji’s (TH) Haj Pilgrimage Operator (PJH) licence will ensure that the cost of performing the haj for the pilgrims will remain reasonable despite the anticipated rise in the overall cost of haj management.

Harun KC Ammu, managing director of Rayhar Travels Sdn Bhd, a PJH licence holder since 1991, said the lowest cost of performing the haj offered by his company last year was between RM25,000 and RM26,000 each.

“The cost is very reasonable... considering the cost for the pilgrims to remain in the Holy Land for 42 days. The (profit) margin for the company is also reasonable in comparison to the actual cost. When we first started in 1991, the cost was just about RM6,000 each.

“The increase is due to the increase in the cost of accommodation, meals, transportation, taxes and the latest being the insurance coverage for the pilgrims. In this context, the additional cost is inevitable, but the cost of performing the haj offered by PJH licence holders, as well as their profit, will remain reasonable,” he told Bernama, when contacted here.

PJH licence holders consist of travel agencies authorised by TH to manage the pilgrims who choose to perform the pilgrimage using the services provided by the agencies and the pilgrims are not receiving any pilgrimage assistance from TH. This practice has reportedly saved RM80 million in costs for TH during the 2018 haj season.

On August 10 last year,TH’s PJH operations director Mat Admara Alang Azizdin Bernama was reported as saying that there were 22 companies with valid PJH licence and 6,140 pilgrims had chosen to perform the haj pilgrimage using packages offered by those companies last year.

He stressed that TH only imposed a service fee of RM500 per pilgrim brought by the travel agencies for access to various services provided by TH in the Holy Land, and that the TH does not take any profit from it.

Meanwhile, Harun said companies holding the PJH licence are required to comply with regulations set by TH in ensuring the wellbeing of the pilgrims, especially in terms of accommodation, meals and movement.