Almost half of 30,200 Malaysian pilgrims in Holy land now

MAKKAH: Almost half of the 30,200 Malaysian Haj pilgrims for the 1438 Hijrah season have arrived in Makkah dan Madinah.
Malaysian Haj delegation deputy head (Welfare), Nurrin Anuwar Shamsuddin said until Aug 1, about 14,000 or 46% of the pilgrims were already in the two holy cities, since the first flight from Malaysia to Madinah arrived on July 24.
"Of this number, 10,900 are in Madinah and the rest in Makkah. The first group of pilgrims who arrived in Madinah have started going to Makkah since Aug 1," he told a press conference at the Makkah Tabung Haji (TH) headquarters, Wednesday.
Those already in Madinah are entering Makkah in stages to perform the Fifth Tenet of Islam.
Nurrin Anuwar said of the 110 flights to the Holy Land this Haj season, 37 had already arrived, out of which, 29 landed in Madinah and the rest in Jeddah, where the pilgrims would then travel by bus to Makkah, about 70km away.
He said TH was also organising various activities for pilgrims arriving in Makkah, including performing the Umrah, besides conducting revision lessons on the Haj rituals.
"We have prepared eight Haj guidance modules, with each maktab (lodging for pilgrims) having a guide, and held four management briefings by the lodgings' management and one briefing on health," he said.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian pilgrims in Madinah and Makkah are reportedly in good health, generally.
Less than 10 pilgrims have received treatment at the TH health centre in Madinah due to fatigue and fever, while none in Makkah so far.
The last of the 110 flights carrying Malaysian pilgrims to the Holy Land will be on Aug 26. Out of the total are 46 direct flights to Madinah and 64 to Jeddah.
The wukuf (congregation) at Mount Arafah for the Haj tenet is expected to be on Aug 31.
Nurrin Anuwar said 565 out of the 600 TH personnel to help manage this year's Haj programme for Malaysian pilgrims were now in Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah while the rest would be arriving within this week. — Bernama