‘Cabinet in the dark about Imams’

> No mention of any company handling umrah visa management system, says Zahid

KUALA LUMPUR: The Cabinet was not informed about the details of the Integrated Manasik Monitoring System (Imams), that has been shut down just a day into its operation.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the government was only told about the need for an umrah visa management system, that would require all tourism agencies that handle umrah in Malaysia to be registered under one roof.

He said this was to monitor the umrah packages and the agencies providing them to ensure pilgrims do not fall victims to fraud.

However, it was later learnt the system was outsourced to a private company – Imams Sdn Bhd – and that RM90.10 would be charged for each pilgrim.

“The Cabinet was not informed on the Imams system, but only on a system to oversee and monitor agencies that provide umrah packages.

“There was no mention about the appointment of any company to handle the monitoring system, let alone outsourcing it to a private company,” he told a press conference after officiating the 42nd Malaysian Drug Prevention Association (Pemadam) general assembly yesterday.

Imams, which was implemented on Dec 15, was discontinued a day later after an uproar from the public and industry players over its fees as well as a non-Muslim executive officer in the company’s rank.

The RM90.10 fee comprised RM45 for using Imams, another RM40 for a comprehensive umrah takaful insurance scheme, as well as RM5.10 for Goods and Services Tax (GST).

“We don’t want any private company charging certain fees to be operating the system, which will burden the pilgrims,” Ahmad Zahid said.

“As the chairman of the tourism committee, I will also call for a special meeting to look for a mechanism that will make sure a government agency, and not a private company, is managing the system,” he added.

Ahmad Zahid also said discontinuing the system was not a political gimmick ahead of the general election, and that it was in response to protests from the public.